Children sent home after COVID outbreak at camp in upstate NY
NEW YORK - More than 100 children attending Camp Pontiac in Copake, New York were sent home after a major outbreak of the coronavirus.
The 7-week overnight camp, which opened for the summer at the end of June, told parents last week about the outbreak among campers between 7 and 1 years old, an age group that isn't eligible for the vaccine yet.
Most of the children aged 12 and older at the camp are vaccinated and were unaffected.
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Now, frustrated parents are asking questions about the camp's protocols and how often the children were tested. Columbia County Health Director Jack Mabb says he believes the camp took appropriate precautions and followed CDC guidance.
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"The kids have to have a negative test to be considered to come to camp. They get to camp and an outside agency comes in to test all the campers when they first get there, but let’s say you had a kid who had an exposure the day before or the day of arriving at camp, it takes 3 to 5 days for the virus to percolate," Mabb said.
The county also sent additional nurses to Camp Pontiac to assist, and everyone in the camp is being tested its weekend. The county is also looking to check and see if the more contagious Delta variant makes up any of the cases.