125 church campers in Texas tested positive for COVID-19

A “student ministry camp” in Texas resulted in more than 125 campers contracting COVID-19.

Over the weekend, League City’s Clear Creek Community Church sent a message to its members announcing a coronavirus outbreak during the four-day camping trip for church youth to Camp Tejas, an area of retreat located in Giddings, TX. Over 450 people attended the camp, including children from grades 6 to 12.

“Additionally, hundreds more have been exposed to COVID-19 at the camp,” the church post read. “And hundreds more were likely exposed when infected people returned from the camp.”

The Galveston County Health District (GCHD) is now working to confirm cases.

“We are testing the Delta variant to see if this is the cause of its spread so rapidly among this group,” Dr Philip Keizer of GCHD told KHOU. “This is a good warning for other churches that are considering meetings. Be careful, especially when planning meetings for children, most of whom have not yet been immunized.”

GCHD health officials added that the outbreak may have affected children who are not eligible for vaccines or who have not been vaccinated. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one in five children between the ages of 12 and 15 has been fully immunized, and only one in three children between the ages of 16 and 17 have been. Adults vaccinated in the camp have also tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.

The church subsequently canceled its July 4-7 services, but added that its in-person services will resume by July 11.

“We are surprised and saddened by this turn of events,” wrote Bruce Wesley, the church’s founding pastor, in a statement. “Our hearts are breaking for those infected with the virus. Please pray for a speedy and full recovery for all those affected.”

Keizer said the outbreak will give local health officials an opportunity to learn more about the COVID-19 Delta variant.

U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy said the variant was spreading rapidly across the country and posed a serious risk to unvaccinated people. He called the variant “highly transmissible”.

“It will very quickly become the dominant variant in the United States,” Murthy said in a July 2 statement. PBS NewsHour interview. However, he also said that current COVID-19 vaccines provide a high degree of protection against the variant.

As of Thursday, CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky estimated that 25% of all COVID-19 cases in the United States are now due to the Delta variant.

U.S. citizens and health experts fear the variant may contribute to a wave of new infections after the weekend of July 4. President Joe Biden feared on Friday that “people would die” by attending large gatherings where few people had been vaccinated.

While Biden said it was “unlikely” that the variant could cause further blockages, he was also reluctant to rule out that possibility entirely.

News week contacted Clear Creek Community Church for comment.