A day camp on Montreal’s south shore has seen an explosion of COVID-19 cases, making it the fifth such camp in the region to see cases of the novel coronavirus this summer.
The Boucherville-based Les Ateliers de Charlot l’Escargot has seen no fewer than 27 of its campers and staff test positive for COVID-19, according to the local health authority.
“There are currently 27 cases among young people and staff members. The outbreak began on July 20,” Martine Lesage, a spokesperson for the CISSS Montérégie-Centre, confirmed in French in an email to Global News.
Lesage said that all staff and children who had attended the camp between July 13 and July 21 had been notified of the outbreak in an email.
Until last week, health authorities had maintained that the four previous outbreaks at Montérégie day camps had been limited to no more than two cases each.
Now, after 27 confirmed cases at Charlot l’Escargot, the CISSS has identified “people who had contact with the cases” and alerted them to their increased risk of contracting the virus.
Lesage declined to say how many such contacts had been identified, but added, “these contacts may have given rise to secondary cases, which could lead to a higher number of cases. The exact number is not yet known.”
The camp is now closed until Aug. 7, a decision taken jointly by the CISSS and the administrators of the day camp.