With schools reopening, administrators and families have settled on different plans: full-time classes, part-time or learning from home. Whichever path is chosen, all should be aware of a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control warning that children of all ages are susceptible to the coronavirus and can spread it.
The CDC detailed an outbreak at a camp in Georgia where 231 children 17 or younger, along with 29 adults, tested positive for the virus in June. The 260 infections represented three-quarters of those tested.
All 597 campers and staff had to document a negative virus test before coming. But someone got through, and the virus moved quickly. Staffers started arriving on June 17, and campers arrived four days later. On June 23, a teenage staffer left with symptoms, and officials began sending kids home the next day.
The CDC called this one of the rare documented “superspreading” cases involving children. It faulted camp officials for not following preventive guidelines. The staff had to wear masks, for example, but the kids did not.
The big question — how many kids had a serious reaction? — is unclear. The CDC had information on about half of the cases. The report didn’t break them down by age. It said 100 of those 136 patients reported symptoms like a fever or a headache.
It’s still a reminder that while children are less affected by the virus, they can get it and spread it. Let the sanitizing and hand-washing begin.
— From The (McComb) Enterprise-Journal
