Parents are furious at a Texas church camp after the children started testing positive for the coronavirus after a summer camp.
Keller’s Keystone Church organized the camp July 6-10 in Hill County, which is located between Dallas and Waco, and public health authorities have confirmed that some cases are linked to the camp, WFAA-TV reported.
“He hasn’t eaten anything, he hasn’t actually eaten in about two days,” said Stephanie Brady, whose daughter is quarantined in her room after testing positive for COVID-19. “There is so much Netflix that she can watch and it’s hard for her to be quarantined alone.”
The church removed photos from its Facebook page showing crowded students, and Brady said the children were grouped into large groups and were not required to follow social distancing practices.
“Later we found out from my daughter that they considered their little group 40, which was how many there were in her cabin,” said Brady. “So when they were with those 40 girls, they didn’t have to distance themselves socially, they didn’t have to wear masks, for me that’s not a small group.”
Church leaders do not plan to send additional notifications of positive tests, Brady said, and they seem to blame parents for the infections.
“I went back to them and said, I really think you should inform the community, I think it is your responsibility,” said Brady. “You just released over 300 children in our community and in surrounding communities that could potentially test positive, and [the camp director] said no further action would be taken. “
Brady was furious at the camp director’s response.
“He said, ‘Well, I didn’t have you send your son to camp, I didn’t force you to send him,'” Brady said, “and I said, ‘No, you didn’t, but we really hoped you had taken the necessary precautions to make sure that I was safe. “
Keystone Church released a statement after the media became involved in reporting the cases.
“Keystone Church takes seriously the physical, spiritual and emotional health of our community and of those who call Keystone Church their home,” the statement said. Keystone Church, along with other local churches and nonprofits, ran summer camps. If any camper was exposed, the parents or guardians of the exposed camper were notified immediately in accordance with the guidelines of the Texas State Department of Health and the CDC. Keystone Church has always and will continue to pray for, invest in, and serve our community. “
Brady doesn’t understand why camp leaders failed to take precautions to prevent infection.
“For me, for the church, it was a little irresponsible,” said Brady. “All we can do now is hope that she gets better and that she doesn’t reach the rest of my family.”
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