Public health officials are investigating a recent COVID-19 outbreak at a Baptist church retreat in Ohio with 800 participants coming from various churches in several states, including Illinois.
The retreat was held at Camp Chautauqua in Miamisburg, Ohio, from June 27 to July 3. Attendees came from Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, according to Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County, the local health agency.
At least 30 cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and Kentucky have been linked to the retreat, according to a July 12 news release from the public health department. Local media reports have said the number of known infections stemming from the event has since increased to 70. It’s unknown if any attendees from Illinois have tested positive for the virus.
The health department news release said the camp and event organizers “failed to respond to Public Health for several days after the initial cases were recognized and have not provided contact information for attendees.”
Public health officials are asking anyone who attended to contact their local health department or Public Health ? Dayton & Montgomery County at (937) 225-4508. Medical experts can then provide instructions for “self-quarantine, monitoring symptoms and testing, as needed,” according to the news release.
Those who attended the retreat are also urged to monitor themselves for symptoms and contact a health care provider if symptoms develop.
“This outbreak demonstrates that the COVID-19 virus is still circulating and continues to make people sick,” said Dr. Michael Dohn, medical director of the local public health agency.
Chautauqua Camp and Conference Center in a statement on its website confirmed that it hosted a retreat on its campus during that time and on July 1 an individual tested positive for COVID-19. The statement goes on to say that “we immediately had the person quarantined off campus.”
“In addition, we initiated diligent monitoring of the rest of the group for symptoms and began temperature checks of individuals associated with that group,” the statement said. “We also performed temperature checks and COVID tests for our staff after receiving the news of this single positive case.”
Coronavirus outbreaks have been linked to multiple church camps and retreats across the country this summer.
At least 160 COVID-19 cases stemmed from a June church youth camp in Texas, where only about a half-dozen of the infected individuals had been vaccinated; several test samples were confirmed to be the highly infectious delta variant of the virus, according to the Galveston County Health District.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is investigating an outbreak at a church summer camp held in late June, spurring at least 23 cases. It was one of several summer camps listed as COVID-19 cluster sites by the state agency.
And in central Illinois, at least 85 campers and staff caught COVID-19 at Crossing Camp in Rushville, a four-night church camp held in mid-June.
Only a “handful” of campers and staff there were vaccinated, even though all were eligible to get the shot, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health.
At least one person was hospitalized, the state health department said. Masking was not required when indoors and the camp was not checking vaccination statuses.
On the camp’s website, the four-night camp in Schuyler County was billed as “a powerful and life-changing event.” A packing list included items like a sleeping bag, sunscreen and a Bible, but didn’t mention bringing a mask.
Most of the COVID-19 infections were among teens, said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike in a statement.
“The perceived risk to children may seem small, but even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause long-term health issues,” she said. “Additionally, infected youth who may not experience severe illness can still spread the virus to others, including those who are too young to be vaccinated or those who don’t build the strong expected immune response to the vaccine.”
Then some camp participants attended a nearby church conference, which led to 11 more COVID-19 cases, according to the state health department. At least 70% of the people infected at the conference were not vaccinated, the agency said.
Crossing Camp is affiliated with The Crossing, a nondenominational Christian church with locations in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
eleventis@chicagotribune.com
