OTTAWA -- A summer day camp at Ecole du Vieux-Verger in Aylmer has been shut down after a camper tested positive for COVID-19 and an adult at the camp was determined to present a high risk.

The City of Gatineau says a person attending the camp tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. The camper had attended the camp at the school on Aug. 3 and 4.

In addition, an adult at the same site was determined to present a high risk. The city says the adult had worked the entire week of Aug. 3 to 7 at the camp, and was determined to be a high risk on Friday.

In a statement, the City of Gatineau says it has decided to place all of the camp counsellors at the site in preventive isolation and to shut down the Ecole du Vieux-Verger camp site to avoid an outbreak.

Ecole du Vieux-Verger is located on Wilfrid-Lavigne Boulevard in the Aylmer sector of Gatineau.

The Centre integre de sante et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais directed the City of Gatineau to contact all parents of children attending the day camp to inform them of the situation. Employees were also contacted to inform them of the preventive isolation requirement.

Parents and staff have been told to be on the lookout for COVID-19 symptoms until Aug. 18. Parents of children or employees showing symptoms should call 819-644-4545 or 1-877-644-4545.

The City of Gatineau says it has implemented a series of measures at day camps this summer to ensure that the sanitary and physical distancing measures were followed, including:

  • Day camp sites disinfected at least three times a day (The City of Gatineau says these measures were applied daily at the Ecole du Vieux-Verger site)
  • Gatineau day camp counsellors undergoing mandatory training from the Association des camps du Quebec in connection to the pandemic. Gatineau added training on hygiene measures
  • Employees and the children's parents fill out a questionnaire daily to assess their health
  • Groups are isolated and most activities take place outdoors

On July 29, the City of Gatineau announced siblings that attended two day camps tested positive for COVID-19. The pair attended camps at Jean-de-Brebeuf and Saint-Jean de Bosco.

On July 20, the city informed parents that a staff member at the Jean-de-Brebeuf day camp had also tested positive for COVID-19.