82 test positive for COVID-19 after attending Missouri summer camp
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Despite reported surges of COVID-19 infections and the threat of contracting the virus still high in the U.S., many businesses are resuming operation under the guise of normalcy. Nationwide, some individuals are ignoring pleas from experts to continue social distancing and are instead resuming everyday activities as if the virus no longer exists.
As children across the country begin attending summer camps, fear of spreading the COVID-19 virus is being dismissed as all but a hoax. Nevertheless, a summer camp in Missouri shut down last week following a coronavirus outbreak in which more than 40 children and staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, health officials said. Within days after the children returned home to 10 different states, the number increased to 82.
The summer camp belongs to a network of Christian sports camps in Missouri, known as the Kanakuk Kamps. After announcing its plans to open starting May 30, the camp network issued a statement on its website assuring parents that camps “are focused on taking all reasonable measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our Kamps.”
The camp located in Lampe, Missouri, was one of several of the network’s overnight camps; the chain prides itself on having approximately 20,000 children attend its camps each summer. According to the company’s website, children between the ages of 13-18 can attend the camp for up to four weeks and participate in activities including Bible studies and sports training.
While a video on Kanakuk’s website said all campers and staff members would be required to self-quarantine for 14 days before attending camp to avoid the spread of the virus, no measures were taken to ensure this requirement was followed outside of a health card issued to parents to fill out.
News of the outbreak spread on July 2 when health officials confirmed that at least 41 campers and staff tested positive, and by July 6 that number had doubled. Parents were made aware of the outbreak and resulting closure through an email last week, NBC News reported. “As your Kamper returns home,” the email read, “we recommend that you consider a 14-day self-quarantine for your child and monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.” The email was followed by an announcement on Facebook by the Stone County Health Department confirming the number of positive cases. “The decision to close has resulted in all campers, counselors and staff to return to their homes,” the Department said on Facebook. “SCHD will be working closely with Kanakuk Kamps to identify exposed individuals and quarantine those individuals, as necessary.”
Despite the concern that should be associated with infecting such a large group of children and staff from across the country, the camp network has not mentioned the outbreak on any of its social media channels and continues to share pictures of campers participating in activities. In addition, the state has not issued any changes in guidelines to avoid another potential outbreak as businesses resume operation. According to People, Randall Williams, director of the Missouri Department of Health, announced that his agency does not plan to shut down other summer camps despite the outbreak. “We think school is incredibly important to kids. We also think camps are important,” Williams said Monday. According to Williams, the Kanakuk Kamps site associated with the outbreak plans to reopen after testing all staff members.
Kanakuk Kamps is not alone. Other camps across the country have opened and closed following both children and staff contracting COVID-19, the Associated Press reported. Ultimately, it is up to parents to decide whether the risk to send their children to a camp amid a pandemic is worth it or not.
As cases surge in the U.S. and increasingly affect younger populations, Donald Trump has called for schools to open for in-person learning, in addition to the administration issuing a new rule that foreign nationals attending school in the U.S. are not allowed to take a full online course load if they wish to stay in the country. Since the start of this pandemic, the Trump administration has failed to adequately respond to the virus and dismissed the severity of it. With camps and schools resuming as they were prior to the virus, there’s no stopping further outbreaks and spread.