The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) through its Center for Threat Preparedness and the State Epidemiologist are helping to create safer environments for campers and staff by offering free COVID-19 antigen test kits to summer camps across the state.
To date, the Center for Threat Preparedness has distributed 18,246 test kits to 32 camps.
“The response from camps has been outstanding,” said Timothy Priddy, Director of DHHR’s Center for Threat Preparedness. “Camp administrators have shown their willingness to put health and safety at the forefront and provide a worry-free experience for their participants.”
Summer camps, such as Summit Bechtel Reserve (SBR) located in Glen Jean, have incorporated COVID-19 antigen test kits into their COVID-19 safety protocols for campers.
“Last spring while preparing for our summer and fall seasons, COVID-19 testing kits were hard to find. DHHR helped us in a significant way by providing 2,000 COVID-19 testing kits,” said Rob Ridgeway, SBR Chief of Staff. “That support helped us provide a much safer experience for more than 6,000 scouts over 8 weeks. The tests along with stressing washing hands, physical distancing, being outdoors as much as possible, identifying symptoms early, and active contact tracing have kept our positive cases and any spread to a minimum so far.”
Camps in West Virginia that are interested in receiving test kits should reach out to their local health department for instructions.
For more information on COVID-19 resources, visit www.coronavirus.wv.gov.