Governor Cuomo announced Tuesday that day camps in New York state will be permitted to open on June 29. He has yet to announce whether sleepaway camps will be open, however.
Health and safety specifics for opening following the coronavirus pandemic weren’t given, but last week the Centers for Disease Control released information regarding how camps should operate. According to the guidelines, camps are recommended to:
- Educate campers, staff, and their families on when they should stay home from camp
- Teach and reinforce handwashing with soap and water
- Keep small groups of campers together all day (cohorting)
- Have campers bring their own lunch and sit in separate areas as opposed to a dining hall
- Stagger arrival and dismissal times by cohort
- Avoid field trips and large camp group gatherings
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and equipment
This flowchart from the CDC serves to help camps determine whether opening is recommended.
The American Camp Association and YMCA of the USA also released educational resources to help camps and state officials make informed decisions about camp this summer. Recommendations include:
- Prescreening of campers and staff before camp
- Ongoing screening throughout summer
- Increased hand washing and sanitizing
- Fewer children in bunks at overnight camps
- Frequent cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces daily throughout facilities
- Holding activities outside as often as possible
- Organizing campers into small group “households” with limited mixing of groups
