BEAUMONT, Texas — After more than 130 adults and children were infected with COVID-19 at a summer church camp in League City, a Beaumont church is changing their COVID-19 protocols to protect children who are too young to be vaccinated.
Praise Church in Beaumont said they'll be taking all the precautions, such as temperature checks, social distancing, sanitizing, and contact tracing, as they prepare for camp at Lake Tomahawk in Livingston next week.
The church said the summer camp will feature three groups each staying four days. In total more than 400 children and teens will go to Lake Tomahawk.
Southeast Texas churches are re-thinking their approach to summer camps two weeks after a COVID-19 outbreak in Galveston County resulted in more than 130 COVID-19 cases with at least three confirmed cases of the delta variant.
"There's no doubt that it's alarming," executive pastor Scott Hawk said.
Praise Church in Beaumont has been forced to take extra precautions.
"It definitely causes us to really take stock, and make sure our procedures are sound, and make sure lake tomahawk is following all the state health guidelines," Hawk said.
Although it may be a risk, Praise Church's Young Adult Pastor Darrian Graves said a lot of growth can come from a week away at camp.
"I think back growing up as a kid, you get a chance to go out into the woods, and you jump off the blob, and your swimming laps with your buddies, and you make these long lasting memories," Graves said.
Church administrator Tammy Andrews also said it is a great way for children to get away from their phones.
"We separate everyone from their social media and their technology, and it creates space for your head and your heart to reflect," Andrews said.
Andrews is also a nurse, who said one of the biggest ways to mitigate the risk comes down to moral code.
"I think is one of the greatest things you can do is just be honest with what you’ve been around, be respectful of what you might expose other people too, and considering others above yourself," Andrews said.
In the end, Praise Church leaders said they are happy with the guidelines in place at Lake Tomahawk.
"It’s comforting to know that you’re working with an organization that recognizes how important cleanliness and safety and sanitization are, and so were grateful for that," Hawk said.
Temperature monitoring and sanitization methods will also be in use to help mitigate risk in hopes of avoiding a situation like the one in Galveston County.