Camp Seymour Closed For Another Week Following Norovirus Outbreak

Plans to re-open YMCA Camp Seymour following a potential outbreak of Norovirus last week are on hold again after more staff began exhibiting symptoms.

The YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties planned to reopen the camp on Sunday, but late Saturday night more staffers began exhibiting symptoms of the virus that causes inflammation of a person's stomach and intestines.

"In an effort to keep campers and staff healthy and not chance a second possible outbreak, YMCA executive staff decided to not re-open for the week," the YMCA said Monday.

They organization emailed  families Saturday night to notify them of the extended closure, and it also called them Sunday morning.

Now, YMCA Camp Seymour plans to reopen on Sunday, Aug. 11 for both overnight and day camp.

The initial Camp Seymour closure came last Thursday, when the YMCA shut down Camp Seymour after 66 campers and 13 staffers became ill with symptoms the day before.

A spokeswoman with the Tacoma-Pierce County Department of Health said that a parent contacted the health department to report that a child was sick.

At the discretion of Camp Seymour, ServPro and Polygon were hired to sanitize camp.

In the meantime, the families who participated in last week's camp were given three options for reimbursement:

• Campers may attend week eight of camp, free of charge Aug. 18-24
• Families may receive a credit to be used towards next summer
• Families can receive a refund back in the form paid for camp