The First outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at outdoor camping site in South Korea, 2020

• Published in: Journal of Epidemiology p. JE20230051
• Main Authors: Kim, Na-Young, Ahn, Seonhee, Kim, GwangJin, Kwon, Donghyok, Park, Young-Joon, Lee, Sang-Eun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan Epidemiological Association 01-04-2024
• Subjects: Camping; COVID-19; Epidemiological investigation; Outdoor; South Korea
• ISSN: 0917-5040; 1349-9092
• DOI: 10.2188/jea.JE20230051

Objectives: Most COVID-19 outbreaks in South Korea occurred through close contact in dense and closed indoor environments. However, a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in a group that camped together at an outdoor camping site in 2020, raising the need to observe precautions even when outdoors. We aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and the risk factors for transmission for developing precautionary measures during outdoor activities.Methods: A study was conducted among 10 patients during the outbreak that occurred at a domestic camping site in July 2020. The demographic and epidemiological characteristics were obtained through an epidemiological investigation; the transmission risk was evaluated through additional site visits and CCTV analysis.Results: The incidence rate of this outbreak was 55.6%. No other common sources of exposure other than that within the campsite were identified; the outbreak possibly occurred due to transmission via close contact with infected people during mealtime and conversation throughout the camping period without implementation of adequate prevention and control measures.Conclusion: It is the first COVID-19 outbreak that occurred at an outdoor camping site in South Korea. COVID-19 can spread even when outdoors, prevention and control measures such as maintaining social distancing and wearing a mask should be observed when a large number of people gather outdoors. To ensure safe camping, facility managers should keep the cleaning and hygiene, and users should minimize the risk of infection by following the recommended precautions while staying in public spaces.