Summer Camps Had Low Youth, Staff Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Rates
(Reuters Health) – Day camps run by the YMCA in North Carolina in 2020 had very low youth and staff symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission rates, a new study suggests.
Researchers examined data on 5,344 youth (mean age 8.5 years) and 1,486 staff (mean age 22 years) who were enrolled or worked at YMCA camps in six counties in North Carolina over a 147-day period from March to August 2020. Overall, there were 17 primary SARS-CoV-2 infections among 9 youth and 8 staff during the study period.
People diagnosed with the 17 primary infections came into contact with a total of 3,030 individuals who were present in-person over the week prior to the positive cases. However, there were only two secondary infections – one youth and one staff – connected to the primary cases.
“This study did demonstrate that when COVID mitigation strategies are strictly adhered to in summer camp settings, symptomatic spread of SARS-CoV-2 is minimal,” said lead study author Emily M. D’Agostino, an assistant professor in family medicine and community health at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
“These protocols included physical distancing, universal mask wearing by staff and youth, frequent hand washing/sanitizing, frequent disinfecting of indoor spaces and equipment, symptom and exposure checking upon arrival, and maintaining small cohorts of 10 youth and 1 staff,” D’Agostino said by email.
Researchers defined primary cases as index youth or staff who self-reported positive viral SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction test from a specimen collected or reported to the health department or other testing center and had no known exposure at camp; secondary cases involved people who reported a positive test and had potential exposure within camp.
The symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 primary case attack rate was 0.6%, researchers report in Pediatrics. The secondary case transmission rate was 0.07%.
Among the primary and secondary cases, the most common symptoms reported were fever (55%) and cough (45%). No cases involved hospitalization.
The study didn’t examine asymptomatic cases.
One limitation of the study is the potential that transmission rates were underestimated due to the exclusion of asymptomatic cases, the study team notes. There was very little testing of asymptomatic cases or randomized testing among children when the study was conducted.
However, the study results are consistent with growing data from camps and schools showing that diligent, multi-layered public health interventions can prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in these settings, said Dr. Laura Blaisdell of the department of pediatrics at Maine Medical Center, in Portland.
“Elevated community transmission rates mean that community-derived cases will present in camp, but with strong public health interventions transmission within camp is rare,” Dr. Blaisdell, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email.
At the same time, children have suffered educational, social, physical and emotional disruptions in their development during the pandemic due to stay-at-home orders and school closures, Dr. Blaisdell said.
“We are just beginning to learn the negative consequences of not courageously finding solutions to gather children safely in schools and out-of-school programs, like camps,” Dr. Blaisdell added. “Studies like this are further evidence that schools and camps can and should provide essential growth experience to our nation’s youth.”
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/3cBDdqW Pediatrics, online March 31, 2021.
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