A north Fulton summer camp closed Friday for the remainder of the season after learning some campers and staff tested positive for COVID-19.
Stephen Ready, director of Camp All-American in Johns Creek has notified families that three campers and two staff members were positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19. He believes each had been exposed outside of camp.
Camp-All American, a ministry of Perimeter Church, opened its summer session on June 29 and was due to end July 31. The sports and adventure camp had been operating on the church’s 100-acre property with about 30% of the number of campers from previous years, Ready said.
About 300 campers have attended each week with up to 175 staff members.
Ready told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that camp administration became aware nearly two weeks ago that a staffer had been exposed outside of work and that person was asked to quarantine and isolate. Ready said that after the three campers and another employee tested positive, it became clear that it would be safer to end the camp with the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia.
Camp opened in June under Gov. Brian Kemp’s safety guidelines, he added.
“We’ve been limiting size and gatherings and making sure campers are in small groups,” he said.
Each group was assigned two camp employees. Masks were optional for the children. “We thought young children running around in the heat and playing soccer could present challenges,” Ready said.
Staffers that interacted with another group wore masks during the interaction, and surfaces and spaces were regularly cleaned, he added.
The camp started in 1989 and serves children from age 5 through high school. Most of the camp families are not church members.
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