Summer camp in El Paso County sees COVID-19 outbreak

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is investigating a coronavirus outbreak at a summer camp in El Paso County.

On June 18, the state agency says there were several confirmed cases of COVID-19 among the adult staff at Eagle Lake Overnight Camp. The residential camp is located near the border of Teller and El Paso counties.

Although the camp had not opened for children, about 150 staff were preparing for its opening. CDPHE says 51 people have been impacted by the outbreak so far. Those include:

• Four confirmed cases.
• Seven probable cases.
• An additional 40 individuals who have been exposed. 

The camp is cooperating fully with CDPHE and El Paso County Public Health as they investigate. The impacted staff have been issued quarantine and self-isolation orders, according to the health agencies.

Eagle Lake Overnight Camp will not reopen this summer.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, a state epidemiologist, says she wants to remind everyone that this is an unfortunate reminder that the pandemic is not over.

“This virus spreads rapidly among groups of people, and that is why it’s so critical for everyone to remain vigilant and to follow safety precautions to minimize transmission,” Herlihy said. “Our current guidelines under ‘Safer at Home and in the Vast, Great Outdoors’ limit group sizes and interaction in order to reduce the likelihood of large outbreaks that could reverse our progress and overwhelm local health care system capacity.” 

However, this outbreak will not impact Public Health Order 20-28 allowing for residential camps to operate under strict safety measures. 

“We believe that it is still safe for camps to operate if they comply with our current public health orders," Herlihy said. "If we find that these eased restrictions are unable to prevent outbreaks, we will re-evaluate."

On Friday, epidemiologists with CDPHE led a virtual consultation for directors of residential camps statewide. They offered technical assistance and advice on how residential camps can mitigate and respond to possible outbreaks as the summer progresses.

Parents who have questions about the Eagle Lake Overnight Camp closure should contact eaglelake@navigators.org. 

For the latest information on COVID-19 in Colorado, visit covid19.colorado.gov.