Utah camps, schools cracking down on flu

One is placing containers of hand sanitizer everywhere, while another has doubled efforts to wipe down touchable surfaces, using a special concoction designed to kill viruses. Although Utah's busy summer camps and gathering spots are rumbling along pretty much as usual, organizers are keeping a wary eye out for signs that pandemic influenza has breached their walls.

And "sick today, please stay away" is practically a theme song.

A Boy Scout camp in Utah County took a week off after a teen staff member tested positive for H1N1, the so-called swine flu. And the virus has led to recent cancellation of several Sunday meetings in Wasatch Front congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including wards in Centerville, Layton, Highland, American Fork and West Jordan. Programs — from busy summer camps and retreats at the University of Utah and BYU to a popular swimming pool in Logan and day-care camps in Salt Lake County — are following local health department advisories and are singing a chorus of "wash your hands" and "don't show up sick." Folks planning birthday parties at This Is the Place Heritage Park are being given the same message.

More than 700 Utahns have tested positive for H1N1 — a sure undercount, because people with the flu's milder symptoms are unlikely to seek medical care or testing. As of Tuesday, six deaths in Salt Lake County had been lab-confirmed as H1N1.

Although the Scout camp, Camp Maple Dell, reopened Monday, it and other camps in the National Parks Boy Scout Council are taking extra precautions. So are camps run by the Great Salt Lake Boy Scout Council. And maintenance crews at This Is the Place are among the many who deal with lots of people daily and are wiping down surfaces more, scheduling extra bathroom breaks and generally emphasizing good hygiene, said Tresha Kramer, a park spokeswoman.

TITP has as many as 150 campers, ages 6-11, enrolled every week. The birthday parties and other gatherings bring in at least 100 more a week. And that doesn't count outings from year-round schools. The park asks on its Web site that those who are sick just stay home.

It's similar to a message posted on the Great Salt Lake Boy Scout Council's Web site: "In order to protect our staff, please advise Scouts, leaders and others who are scheduled to attend camp of the following: Any potential campers, who have any flu-like symptoms please stay away from camp. If campers become ill during the camp it is important for them to return to their homes."

The decision of the wards to cancel services was a local one, said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter. "We leave it up to local leaders to take whatever precautionary measures are best," he told the Deseret News.