Covid outbreak ‘chaos’ at summer camp
► ANGRY FAMILIES have spoken of the “chaos” that followed Covid-19 outbreaks at Tribe summer camps on the Isle of Wight.
Parents accused the organisers of failing to properly oversee the early return of children forced to go home early due to possible exposure to the virus, and expressed concern that some youth leaders who had been onsite during an earlier outbreak had remained at the camp.
Hundreds from Years 5 to 13 took part in the camps, with the last cohort returning on Thursday.
One set of parents – whose 14-yearold returned home early after a possible exposure – said the teen had made the journey unsupervised on Tuesday evening.
The child travelled to London from the Isle of Wight by taxi, ferry and railway together with a small group of campers, they said.
The parents said they were initially told by a member of the Tribe team that organisers would arrange transportation back for their child, who was meant to return home on a coach on Thursday.
But hours later they received a text message from their child asking whether they could book a ferry ticket remotely. The father said he was unable to reach organisers at the time.
The child eventually arrived in London at around 10.30pm after what the father described as an “insanely chaotic” process.
“We would like some sort of understanding of what happened.
“We are disgusted with what’s happened. I personally wouldn’t send my children on Tribe again,” the dad said.
Tribe’s head of operations, Tamara Jacobson, said the group apologised to parents affected “for the confusion and communications gap”. She said: “Incorrect information was inadvertently given, and because a number of children had to be isolated and collected, it took some time to call all their parents to inform them of the situation. Parents were aware of their responsibility to collect their children from camp due to Covid. The families of about 20 participants chose for their children to make their way home rather than collect them.
“Tribe prides itself on the professional way it runs its camps and we know this is why hundreds of families trust us to deliver a safe and inspiring summer experience for their children every year.”
Another parent, whose 11-year-old child tested positive upon returning from camp on Wednesday, accused its leaders of “behaving irresponsibly”.
The mother was also worried that some youth leaders who had been on-site during the earlier outbreak remained at the camp.
United Synagogue, however, said all leaders were tested daily for Covid-19 and none tested positive.
US also stressed there was no evidence the madrichim had made children ill.
The movement also said no youth leaders had come into close contact with cases according to official guidance for summer camps, which describes sharing a bedroom as a close contact.
Other parents, however, stressed that their children had positive experiences at camp.
United Synagogue described claims it turned a blind eye to cases as “outrageous and simply false” and said children had been tested regularly, with any positive cases and their close contacts isolated.
Parents were aware of their responsibility to collect children due to Covid