“Any kind of an experience at a summer camp in 2020 is going to be a different experience,” one pediatric infectious diseases physician said.
While on a nature hike at Camp Wilani in Veneta, Oregon, last week, five young campers crowded around an interesting bug before being gently reminded by staff members to spread out. Later, the children played badminton with 6 feet of space separating them. During archery, canoeing and arts and crafts, they took frequent breaks to pump hand sanitizer into their palms.
In a year when children across the country have been stuck indoors for months, ripped from their normal routines and separated from their friends, the joys and freedoms of camp are more necessary than ever, many camp proponents say. While some camps are still weighing whether to run, others have made the difficult choice to skip this season.
And Jim Dunn worried that a mild case of the coronavirus in a camper could be mistaken for something more benign, like homesickness. Camps that will be open are following protocols that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designed, plus local and state guidelines, as well as an extensive guide jointly created by the American Camp Association and the YMCA of the USA.
Even camps that are open with limited enrollment will see a financial hit: At Camp Wilani, which will welcome children ages 5 through 17 starting at the end of June, the total number of campers per session will be limited to 25, divided into five groups to minimize contact. In prior summers, the camp had up to 60 campers per week.
Staff will wear masks in some situations, but campers generally will not, he said, unless they are in the health center or participating in a campwide activity that involves loud cheering and yelling. He said he does not worry that the precautions will ruin the magic of camp. While children have generally experienced more mild symptoms of the coronavirus than adults, there have been rare severe or even fatal pediatric cases, and whether camps can safely run this summer is a “difficult question,” said Dr. David Kimberlin, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a pediatric infectious diseases physician.
A difficult choice for parentsThe unexpected loss of camp is distressing for campers as well as for their parents, many of whom are now in a crunch. “His summer camp has amazing staff and all sorts of adventures all summer, and now we have nothing,” she said. Going to camp is, of course, a privilege afforded to families who have the means to enroll their children.
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