Dozens of Covid-19 cases confirmed in two summer camps

At least 40 children and several adults in two summer camps in northern Greece and Crete have tested positive for the coronavirus, local media revealed on Friday.

The first outbreak was in a camp in the region of Chania, western Crete, where more than 30 children and an unspecified number of employees were found to be infected.

According to zarpanews.gr, camp officials are believed to have known about the infections as early as Monday but initially denied their existence.

The mother of an infected camper said her child had a fever when she took him from the camp on Wednesday which prompted her to test him for the virus. Both the child and her have tested positive. 

The summer camp announced that it was closing until July 15 and that it will require a negative rapid test from all the kids when it reopens. It also said that no visits will be allowed. 

Local authorities fear that the infection has spread further from Chania, as four children from Paleochora who holidayed in the camp have also tested positive.

The second outbreak was in the northern Greek region of Halkidiki, where 14 teenagers were infected. 

The children, aged between 13 and 17, were promptly taken from the camp by their parents who were informed about the tests. Three of the campers are from the city of Larissa, one from Volos, while there was no information about the rest. Most of them were symptomatic.

Camp officials said they cleared the six housing units that were hosting the affected children. The camp hosts hundreds of kids each season mostly from Thessaloniki and Halkidiki. 

After the two outbreaks, the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) is considering expanding its Covid testing in all major camps in the country.