Illinois church camp that did not require vaccinations, masks linked to 180 COVID-19 cases

An Illinois church summer camp and men’s conference in June have been linked to 180 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday.

The camp and conference did not require attendees to be vaccinated, tested or masked, the CDC reported, and the high rate of transmission was likely due to the delta variant of the coronavirus.

The report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that as of August 13, a five-day summer camp and two-day men’s conference, both sponsored by a church, had led to 180 confirmed cases. and probable identified. by contact tracers.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the camp outbreak occurred at Crossing Camp in Rushville, central Illinois, about 70 miles southwest of Peoria.

Calls to Crossing Camp went unanswered, and he did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Illinois officials first reported the outbreak to the CDC on June 30, according to the report.

The June 13-17 summer camp session did not require COVID-19 vaccination or testing, and did not require masks, and campers slept in groups of about 100 people in “large facilities.” shared boarding “.

Campers were frequently in close contact with small groups of staff and campers for indoor and outdoor activities.

On June 16, a camper left early with “fever and respiratory symptoms” and tested positive for coronavirus.

Six of the camp staff who eventually tested positive left the camp to attend the men’s conference at a different location on June 18-19. All six tested positive after the conference ended.

The men’s conference, like the camp, did not require vaccinations, tests, or masks.

As of Aug. 13, the CDC had found 87 primary cases related to the summer camp and 35 related to the men’s conference. Through contact tracing, the CDC identified 58 additional secondary cases among close contacts of camp or conference participants.

The study found that the attack rate – which the CDC says is “the risk of contracting the disease for a specified period, such as the duration of an outbreak” – was 26% among campers and the staff and 7% among conference attendees.

Of the 180 cases, 29, or 16.1%, occurred in fully vaccinated people, none of whom required hospitalization, the CDC said.

Of the 31 genetically sequenced samples, 87% were identified as the delta variant, 10% were identified as the alpha variant, and 3% – one case – were identified as the gamma variant.

The CDC report warned that the 180 cases are likely an underestimate as it did not have access to the camp lists and not all people participated in the contact tracing. In addition, positive home antigen tests were not counted.