180 People, Up From 80, Got COVID During Summer Church Camp: CDC

RUSHVILLE, IL — State health officials now believe at least 180 people contracted COVID-19 at a central Illinois church camp and subsequent conference that originally reported 85 cases of the illness following the largely unmasked events.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 29 of the confirmed or probable cases were among people who were fully vaccinated.

EARLIER: Church Camp Linked To 2 COVID-19 Superspreader Events

The outbreak occurred among those who attended The Crossing Camp from June 13-17. The camp is sponsored by The Crossing church, a non-denominational Christian church with locations in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.

The camp was for students ages 14-18, who were encouraged to bring a Bible on their packing list but not a mask.

Among the 180 cases, 122 were from those who went to the camp and conference, while 58 were close contacts of those people. Thirty-one of those infected agreed to have their coronavirus specimen examined and sequenced.

Of those 31, 87 percent tested positive for the delta variant. The CDC report estimates around 1,127 people were exposed to the highly contagious delta variant by the traveling group.

"The high rate of transmission was likely driven by the number of persons infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant," the CDC report stated.

There have been 21 other such outbreaks at overnight summer camps in Illinois, which rarely require vaccinations or masks, the CDC said. Since many campers are not old enough to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, health officials recommend pre-screening testing and consistent mask-wearing to mitigate outbreaks.

None of the infected campers, staff or conference attendees had to go to the hospital, the CDC said.