Tuesday, 19 Mar 2024

Summer Camps and Virus Outbreaks: What to Know

By Troy Closson

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It’s Friday.

Weather: Today and Saturday, mostly sunny, with a high in the low 80s. On Sunday, partly sunny, with an afternoon thunderstorm and a high in the mid-80s.

Alternate-side parking: In effect until Aug. 15 (Feast of the Assumption).

Nearly all the staff and children over age 12 at the sleep-away camp were vaccinated. But the coronavirus still reached the site through younger children.

Thirty-one children at Camp Pontiac, about 100 miles north of New York City in Copake, N.Y., had tested positive as of Thursday morning, after several had recently displayed symptoms. None were seriously ill.

The cases come as the highly infectious Delta variant has sparked concerns that another wave of the virus could be on the horizon in New York City and other areas.

[Read more about the outbreak in upstate New York.]

Here’s what to know:

The details

All the children who tested positive were under the age of 12, in a reflection of the challenges that arise when a huge population cannot be vaccinated. (Children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated).

So far, the outbreak does not appear to have spread into the surrounding community in Columbia County.

The context

The spate of cases follows several similar outbreaks at other summer camps, often in states with lower overall vaccination rates than New York.

Source: Read Full Article

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