COVID New York Update: Camp Sleepaway Says 31 Campers Under 12 Have Tested Positive

COPAKE, New York – A mixed vacation camp in New York has said 31 campers aged 7 to 11 have tested positive for Covid-19 – but none of their vaccinated campers aged 12 and over have.

Camp Pontiac, located in Copake, NY, about a two-hour drive from New York City, said in a letter to parents that the first positive test result was received on July 16. The virus then spread further.

“The original outbreak was on the girls ‘side, but the latest new cases are on the boys’ side,” Jack Mabb, director of the Columbia County Department of Health, said Thursday in an email to CNN. “Most of the cases are due to tests carried out on symptomatic campers last weekend.”

All but a few positive cases were discharged from the camp with 88 contacts, he said. The few people who have not been sent home “live too far away to easily return home,” he said.

Camp Pontiac has 550 campers on campus; about half are between 7 and 11 years old and half between 12 and 17 years old, according to Mabb.

None of the campers aged 12 or older have tested positive for Covid-19, as all but four are vaccinated, he said. There are 275 workers in the camp and less than 10 are unvaccinated, he added.

On the recommendation of the state’s Department of Health, Camp Pontiac is testing all unvaccinated campers at least twice this week.

The outbreak illustrates the continued spread of Covid-19 while also showing the importance of vaccinations, which studies have shown are safe and offer protection against the disease and its most serious risks.

“Being fully vaccinated gives you a high degree of protection against infection, and an even greater degree of protection against serious illness, hospitalization,” the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, Dr Rochelle Walensky. “These vaccines are among the most effective we have in modern medicine.”

The CDC said staff and fully immunized campers did not need to wear masks at camp. Children under 12 cannot be vaccinated because vaccine manufacturers are still testing the effectiveness and safety of vaccines for younger age groups. A timeline for their approval is not clear.

The-CNN-Wire
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