How four summer camps in Maine prevented COVID-19 outbreaks
As the coronavirus hit communities across the United States over the summer, four overnight camps in Maine successfully kept the virus at bay. Of 1,022 people who attended the summer camps, which included campers and staff members, only three people tested positive for COVID-19, researchers report August 26 in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. That’s because the people who came to Maine from 41 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, Bermuda and five other countries diligently followed public health measures put in place to stop transmission, the team says. The camps’ success, as well as others including child care programs in Rhode Island that limited coronavirus transmission, could point to a path forward for places like schools that are reopening with in-person classes in the face of the ongoing pandemic, though challenges remain. At the camps, a combination of testing, social bubbles, social distancing, masks, quarantine and isolation prevented outbreaks. Before arriving at camp, officials...