Parents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are upset after the children tested positive for coronavirus after going to a church summer camp.
Keystone Church in Keller, Texas, led a group of 300 teens to Latham Springs Camp in Aquilla, about 75 miles south of Fort Worth, from July 6 to 10 and had plans to keep students and staff on except.
“I’m angry,” said Stephanie Brady of Keller, whose 17-year-old daughter tested positive after returning from camp.
The teenager was quarantined for three weeks and Brady is upset after one of her daughter’s best friends ended up in the emergency room with difficulty breathing.
He said he called camp staff after viewing online photos of dozens of campers with no social distancing, and was told that everything was fine and that they were taking precautions.
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“Every day I think, ‘I really wish I had trampled underfoot, I really wish I hadn’t sent her over there.'”
The church reportedly emailed parents to tell them that a student was sent home the first day after it was discovered that they had been exposed to COVID-19 through a relative. Two days later, that caravan tested positive for the virus, reports KXAS-TV.
“You would have expected everyone to have at least kept the masks, but in many of the images, there were no masks. They considered their small groups, 40, which was how many in their cabin, ”said Brady.
Keystone Church in Keller, Texas took the teens to a summer camp located about 75 miles south of Fort Worth from July 6 to 10, where a possible coronavirus outbreak occurred.
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Krissy Askins, who lives near the church, said city, county and church leadership should inform the community how many children tested positive.
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“We all share facilities, we all share supermarkets, restaurants, it’s fair to want to know if there’s basically a big outbreak in your backyard,” Askins told WFAA. “I just want everyone to be honest and tell the truth.”
The church reportedly removed images, which showed dozens of campers standing shoulder to shoulder, for privacy reasons on its Facebook page on Sunday.
The Tarrant County chief elected official said he was concerned about the lack of caution.
“I was very disappointed with the photos showing little or no use of masks,” said Judge Glen Whitley. “If we are going to overcome this, we have to be distancing ourselves, we have to worry as much about the rights of other people as we do about ours.”
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“I feel like they have been frank as much as they needed to be in cases that have been reported since the camp,” said Amy Jackson, whose daughter also attended the camp, at KRLD, adding that everyone knew there was a risk.
“I would probably make the same decision once again and I feel like the church did everything in its power to keep things as safe as possible while our children were there.”
Keystone Church released an official statement over the weekend, saying it “takes seriously the physical, spiritual and emotional health of our community and of those who consider Keystone Church their home.”
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“If any campers were possibly exposed, the parents or guardians of the exposed camper were immediately notified under the guidelines of the Texas State Department of Health and the CDC,” the statement said. “Keystone Church has always prayed and will continue to pray for and serve our community.”
Tarrant County reported 663 new cases on Tuesday, bringing its total of confirmed positives to 22,665. The county has delayed the start of face-to-face classes at schools until at least September 28, reports The Dallas Morning News.
