Washington (AFP)
Hundreds of children contracted the coronavirus at summer camps last month in the US state of Georgia, health officials said Friday, new evidence that children are both susceptible to Covid-19 and to pass it on.
The virus has infected at least 260 of the 597 participants in this summer camp, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), for whom the actual figure is likely even higher since the results were only available for 58% of the group.
The camp in question ignored the CDC's recommendations that all participants should wear sheet masks, and only asked its staff to put them on.
However, he had obeyed a decree from the State of Georgia requiring all participants to present a negative test for Covid-19, carried out a maximum of 12 days before their arrival.
Other precautionary measures included physical distancing, frequent disinfection of surfaces, and keeping children in the same small groups.
Participants "took part in a variety of indoor and outdoor activities," including singing, the report said. They slept in cabins accommodating up to 26 people.
On June 23, a teenage staff member left summer camp after experiencing chills the day before. He then tested positive for coronavirus.
The camp began sending participants home on June 24 and closed on the 27th.
An investigation launched on June 25 found that 260 of 344 people for whom results were available had tested positive.
Of these, 74% had mild symptoms like fever, headache and sore throat. The others had no symptoms.
These data add to growing evidence "showing that children of all ages are likely to be infected with Sars-CoV-2 and, contrary to initial reports, could play an important role in transmission", say the authors of the CDC report.
© 2020 AFP