KEYSTONE, SD – The South Dakota Department of Health reports that 61 campers and staff at Camp Judson outside Keystone have now tested positive for COVID-19. On Monday of this week, the Health Department said they had less than 10 cases found from the camp.
The Health Department says all of the cases they’ve identified are South Dakota residents. Camp Judson has now canceled camps for the remainder of summer.
As to concerns that similar spreads could occur in schools as they open for in-class instruction, it is a legitimate consideration according to Dr. Nancy Babbitt, a Family Medicine Specialist in Rapid City.
She says that preventing the spread of coronavirus that is spread through respiratory droplets, means wearing a mask. She continued in saying that some illnesses associated with children contracting the virus are concerning. But she says the big concern is that kids can spread the virus to staff and teachers who are at higher risk.
South Dakota Health department spokesman Derrick Haskins said they will continue to investigate the outbreak at Camp Judson and notify people who had close contact with those who tested positive.
In related news, a Christian camp in Missouri has been forced to shut down after dozens of staff, campers and counselors tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Kanakuk K-2 camp in Lampe, just north of the border with Arkansas, closed after 41 people became infected with the coronavirus, the Stone County Health Department announced last week.
Four days later, local health officials said the number of infections had doubled, to 82. Many of those who tested positive had already left the camp and returned home, with cases in at least 10 states.
