Lots of school districts think they can open this fall, crowd kids in the usual numbers into the usual classrooms, and not see coronavirus break out and shut them down.
Camp Judson should dispel that fantasy. Seeking “normalcy and connection,” the Christian camp brought 200 God-fearing (and thus, believers would think, safer, right?) high schoolers together for a week in the fresh open air of the Black Hills and ended up as South Dakota’s latest coronavirus cluster:
…The camp has closed and has canceled an outing scheduled for junior-high students set for July 26 to Aug. 1.
As of of July 27, fewer than 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 that were tied to the camp west of Keystone had been reported to the state health department, said department spokesman Derrick Haskins, who would not provide a specific number of confirmed cases.
The department will continue to investigate the outbreak and notify people who had close contact with those who have tested positive for the disease. Camp officials had been cooperative with the investigation, Haskins said, adding that there were no plans to issue a public notice about the incident.
The First Baptist Church in Sioux Falls, which has ties to Camp Judson, reported on its Facebook Page on July 23 that three campers, three counselors and the camp director had tested positive for COVID-19. One person with close ties to the church had tested positive for the disease but had not attended church functions since returning to Sioux Falls from the camp, the posting said [Nick Lowrey, “Covid-19 Outbreak Leads to Closure of Camp Judson Facility near Keystone,” South Dakota News Watch, 2020.07.27].
We very much wanted our child to camp at the ELCA’s Outlaw Ranch in the Black Hills this summer, but Outlaw Ranch decided this spring that there was no way they could risk bringing kids together amidst a pandemic. Camp Judson proves Outlaw Ranch’s wisdom.
Camp Judson also supports my prediction that one third of the schools that think they can open for regular face-to-face classes on a regular schedule this fall will be closed due to coronavirus outbreaks by September 30.
This is amoral and criminal behavior, both in the exposure of minors to dangerous health conditions, and failure of reporting of such conduct and infection information to local authorities. Much like felony battery (DUI injury of passenger).
More and more proof that schools should close and regroup for the safety of the children and all that provide for them. School boards should be liable for this carnage for now and for the future treatments these folks will need. Covid is the gift that keeps on giving for the rest their lives.
Louis Gohmert has the covid!Booyah!! Jesus has a sense of humor.
“With the news that Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) has been diagnosed with COVID-19, it’s worth looking back at the congressman’s stance on the virus in recent months.
Gohmert, who’s become known on Capitol Hill for often refusing to follow public health experts’ guidance to wear a mask, said in June that he’d mask up in the event that he got sick.”
He and GNOem are probably exchanging zoom’s on how to not wear masks. In GNOem’s case, the masks would interfere with those hoops,
Department of Health yesterday said 32 Camp Judson campers and staff have tested positive.
I hope Queen Covid is listening. Maybe she will shut her mouth for a little while about SD is doing so great with coronavirus. Praying the virus away ain’t going to work either, you Christian Right wingers. So just knock it off and put on a mask.
The number is now 61 and most of them are teenagers. MSM noted that the Camp Director tested positive. Camp Judson has a permanent director and his wife that are employed by the denomination. Neither of them has tested positive for the virus. Each weekly camp has a “volunteer” director of curriculum, activities and programs. It is one of those directors that has tested positive. It should also be noted that Camp Judson hosts other denominational camps as well as secular functions throughout the year that are not strictly youth or religion-oriented.
From experience and direct annual connection with Camp Judson to include financial and volunteer support, the comparison with the contemporary school experience has merit but is not entirely consistent with the “face to face classroom experience” of public education. There is common dining, small group activities both indoors and outdoors, and larger group activities indoors and out that generally involve less than optimum social distancing but it is rare that any activity closely parallels that of a public school classroom. The likely and perhaps greater contributor to the high infection rate is the small residential cabin quarters of the campers. Usually 6-8 kids to a cabin with a common bathroom and a community shower for all campers.
The Facility is governed by a Board of Directors and most of the Camp schedule was largely planned and approved using the estimates of peak infection rates and trends provided by local and state authorities. CDC guidelines were in a state of flux and there was still no clear guidance and recommendation from either State or Federal officials at the time decisions were made to open Camp on a normal schedule. It should be noted that several camps were held successfully without incident before this camp started which should signal that there is, at least, some measure of random, involved in the vectoring of the virus.
This event has nothing whatever to do with Jesus saving anybody from anything but everything to do with human error and poor judgement common to every hominid on the planet.