More to this story we first told you about.
Many parents were surprised when they dropped off their child at Muskoka Woods only to find out it was closed due to a COVID-19 outbreak and headed right back home.
There’s no better sound than the laughter coming from kids at summer camp. After a long
season, where so much was taken from them, Muskoka Woods was thrilled to open gates to children who really deserved a summer camp experience.
Since opening day on July 4th, Muskoka Woods has heard life-changing stories of fun, friendships and personal growth, until that was tragically interrupted by COVID-19.
Muskoka Woods has always taken the safety of guests and staff seriously. In order to open
camp this year, Muskoka Woods worked closely with their health care team, experts in
epidemiology and local Public Health to put together a comprehensive COVID-19 Safety
plan.
One parent told Muskoka411 the protocols cand upgrades have been amazing.
These Tools For Fighting COVID-19 include:
● Two months of leadership staff training, and additional training to other staff
● Reduced gathering capacity
● Ventilation, air filtration and adding outdoor spaces
● Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting
● Following all quarantine and self-isolation protocols
● Operating in cohorts
● Daily/weekly screening and testing of all guests and staff
● Wearing face-coverings
● Hand hygiene
● Physical distancing
● Contact tracing
● Meeting and exceeding the Ministry of Health Ontario COVID-19 Safety Guidelines
for Overnight Camps
On July 31st, at the end of Week 4, Muskoka Woods identified single digit cases within one cohort at camp. When there is a confirmed case, the team works closely with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) to respond according to our comprehensive Muskoka Woods COVID-19 Safety Plan.
During Week 5 guest arrival, through rigorous testing protocols, an additional
positive case was discovered and public health declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at the
camp.
According to the SMDHU, an outbreak at Overnight Summer Camps may be declared
if there are two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases with campers or staff where
transmission may have occurred at camp within 14 days.
The camp made the decision to cancel Week 5.
Muskoka Wood says they continue to follow all Public Health protocols and are working
closely with them on a date when we can reopen.
To date, there is a very small single digit number of positive COVID-19 cases that are no
longer onsite at Muskoka Woods.
“One of the heartbreaking things of this pandemic is that after two years of waiting, our
guests are not able to attend camp this week”. As John McAuley, President/CEO, has
shared to staff, “Our hearts are aching for all the kids who missed out on everything that
summer camp has to offer.”
Shortest camp stay in history… 4 hours @muskokawoods closed due to Covid-19 #CovidIsNotOver #BetterSafeThanSorry pic.twitter.com/dA2pVYT3nF
— Sherrie-Mae (@Sherriemae23) August 2, 2021
