New measles cases decline in Ontario as school year ends, but officials turn attention to summer camps

Warning signage for suspected cases of measles is seen outside the main entrance of Woodstock General Hospital in Woodstock, Ont., Thursday, May 22, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nicole Osborne

As the school year comes to a close, public health officials in Ontario are turning their attention to preventing measles from hitting summer camps.

New cases of the highly contagious disease have decreased in Ontario over the past week with the province reporting 33 additional infections, compared to 96 new cases in the province the previous week, and 74 on June 12.  

The data released Thursday brings the total number of infections in Ontario to 2,212 since an outbreak began in October, most of them unvaccinated children. 

Now, teachers are passing on the torch of keeping kids safe to camp counsellors. 

Ontario’s Health Minister Sylvia Jones said on Monday that the province’s top doctor had a “fulsome meeting” with the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) in mid-May about what to do in case of an outbreak.

The ministry said in a statement Thursday that if there is a case at a camp, the local public health unit would identify unvaccinated campers and staff, and require them to isolate for 21 days.

A Southwestern Public Health guidance document recommends that both campers and staff have two doses of the measles vaccine.

“While not legislatively required, camps are strongly encouraged to collect official immunization records,” the guidance document states, also suggesting establishing daily screening checks, anticipating staffing shortages, and training staff on how to identify measles symptoms.

It also recommends keeping campers in small cohorts, staggering meal and shower times, and maximizing outdoor activities. 

However, the public health unit said each camp can make their own operational decisions.

For Jack Goodman, owner and co-director of Camp New Moon in Baysville, Ont., that meant mandating proof of vaccination by creating an electronic registration for parents to upload their kids immunization records. 

He obtained 100 per cent compliance from campers and staff. “Here we are running camp feeling pretty confident because everyone is immunized,” Goodman said Thursday, as campers unpacked on the first day of camp.  

As former chair of the OCA’s COVID-19 Task Force, Goodman was called in to work with public health officials on aligning screening, communication and vaccination protocols for measles. 

Compared to the pandemic, “This is much more like a pebble in our shoe compared to a rockslide,” he said. 

Meanwhile, most of Ontario’s new cases are in a northern region for the fourth week in a row.

Algoma Public Health, which includes Sault Ste. Marie., is reporting 22 new cases. By comparison, one new case was recorded in Southwestern Public Health, which for months was the epicentre of the outbreak. 

And while the number of new cases in Ontario have dropped, they are going up in Alberta, which recorded 109 new infections over the past week. That brings the province’s total to 1,105 since outbreaks in the province began in March, according to the latest data Thursday. 

Most measles cases in both provinces have been among unvaccinated kids, including 107 infants, children and teenagers hospitalized in Ontario. One Ontario infant born prematurely and infected in utero has died.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2025.

Hannah Alberga - with files from Allison Jones, The Canadian Press