Reply To: COVID Testing post arrival

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#42437

Laura:

These are some of the most common questions we are getting right now and we understand the need to figure out a testing cadence for your camp. There are different reasons one would test – screening, diagnostic, and mitigation testing. I assume when you say have an “onsite clinic” I assume you mean for diagnostic testing (for someone who presents with illness symptoms). There would be no reason to re-screen campers who are just staying with you for a week.

The CDC recommendation is screening testing 1-3 days before camp arrival (some states have extended this time due to concerns regarding getting results). You do not need to retest on arrival as that would be too soon following the first screening test and there is no good reason to rescreen that early.

Therefore if you are looking for testing options for diagnostic reasons, you could just have some test kits onsite available for individuals. You should not need one for every camper. A PCR test is still gold standard but you could use a less expensive antigen test. The key is if the antigen test is negative on someone who is having illness symptoms, you need to retest them in 24-36 hours to confirm the accuracy of that test result. Retesting with a PCR is ideal, but could use a second antigen if that is what you can afford. Some camps have decided to just take their campers to an urgent care center if they develop symptoms for testing. There are many different options.

Best to you
Tracey GAslin