180 COVID cases traced back to maskless church camp, conference in Illinois, CDC says

A five-day youth church camp and a two-day men’s conference hosted in Illinois this summer is the source of 180 COVID-19 cases and more than 1,000 coronavirus exposures, federal health officials said.

The two church-based events were in Schuyler and Adams counties and connected to The Crossing Camp in Rushville, the Chicago Tribune reported. Both events, sponsored by the same organization, did not require masks, COVID vaccinations or a negative test result, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published Tuesday.

The youth camp for teens ages 14-18 was hosted June 13-17 by a church organization with locations across western Illinois, Iowa and Missouri. Face coverings were not listed as one of the “suggested items to bring to camp,” the CDC said.

In total, 294 campers and 41 staff members attended the camp.

“Campers were housed in large, shared boarding facilities of approximately 100 campers each, dined in a cafeteria together, participated in indoor and outdoor small group activities in which campers were with the same persons during program events, and participated in activities with all campers during all 5 days,” the CDC said.

On the second to last day of camp, one camper developed a fever and respiratory symptoms, the CDC said. The camper left the camp and was diagnosed with COVID-19. The other campers and staff were notified and encouraged to get a COVID test. They were also told to quarantine if they tested positive for coronavirus, the CDC said.

Six of the camp’s staff members tested positive, but while they were waiting for their results, they attended the organization’s men’s church conference from June 18-19. The conference of 500 attendees and 30 staff members was held at a different place than the youth camp.

Those six staff members didn’t have their test results until after the second event had ended, the CDC said, and developed symptoms sometime between June 17-29.

A men’s conference attendee was first diagnosed with COVID on June 21, two days after the conference had ended.

“After conference-associated COVID-19 cases were identified, conference attendees and staff members were notified, encouraged to (receive) ... SARS-CoV-2 testing, and instructed to quarantine per CDC guidance and isolate if they received a positive test result,” the CDC said in its analysis of the outbreak.

As of Aug. 13, two months after the youth camp began, 180 COVID cases have been connected to the outbreak, according to the CDC study. Of the 180, 122 people are considered “primary cases,” meaning they attended the camp or conference. Among those 122 primary cases, 104 were not fully vaccinated.

Of the other 58 infected — considered “secondary cases” — 48 were infected by household members, four by family members outside their households, three by friends, and three by either a neighbor, at work or at a Bible study group.

When studying the 180 cases, the CDC found that 13 were treated in an emergency department and five were hospitalized. No vaccinated people were hospitalized, though three did seek medical care in an emergency department. No deaths connected to the outbreak have been reported.

Experts studied the specimens of 31 people connected to the outbreak, and of those, 27 were identified as the delta variant.

The outbreak has since exposed 1,127 people in at least four states and 18 counties to COVID “through attendance at the camp or conference or through close contact with a person who had a camp- or conference-associated case,” the CDC said.

The Crossing Camp said it was following CDC guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting the facility after the outbreak was first confirmed, McClatchy News previously reported.

“This investigation underscores the impact of secondary SARS-CoV-2 transmission during large events such as camps and conferences when COVID-19 prevention strategies, including vaccination, masking, physical distancing, and screening testing, are not implemented,” the CDC said.

This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 12:37 PM with the headline "180 COVID cases traced back to maskless church camp, conference in Illinois, CDC says."