PLYMOUTH, Mich. – Camp Mirage, a summer camp in Plymouth, has cancelled their 2020 summer camp season due to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
“If we were able to open, we wouldn’t be able to provide an experience that resembles summer camp,” director Cara Trost said.
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The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Michigan has risen to 48,021 as of Tuesday, including 4,674 deaths, state officials report.
READ: Michigan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases up to 48,021; Death toll now at 4,674
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended Michigan’s stay-at-home order until May 28. Under the governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Safe” states that up to May 28, Michiganders can’t leave their homes except to run critical errands, engage in safe outdoor activities or to go to specified jobs.
Read the full statement below:
"It is with deep sadness that we are announcing the cancellation of our 2020 summer camp season. We’d like to share with you some of the reasons why we came to this difficult decision.
Like other summer camps, we had been waiting on the CDC to release guidelines for summer child care. Those guidelines have been put on hold and social distancing guidelines have been left up to individual states.
We reached out to our State Representative’s office for a timeline and this is what we were told, “We have received an answer from the Governor’s liaison to the legislature. The status is that they are still evaluating everything on a weekly basis and are unable to give concrete answers about things that are weeks or months out. As frustrating as this is, the State is not willing to speculate at the cost of public health when there are still so many unknowns.”
It is impossible for us to plan without any direction. We know that we need to follow the Governor’s 6 phases to reopen the economy. We know that, when allowed, public gatherings will be small. We know that we will have to social distance and wear PPE. What we don’t know is how this would fit into our environment at Camp Mirage. First and foremost, our number one priority at Camp is the health and safety of our campers, their families and our staff. At staff training, we teach our counselors they have two main goals over the summer. #1 is safety first. #2 is to have a blast. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we can not guarantee either of those things to our families.
If we were able to open, we wouldn't be able to provide an experience that resembles summer camp. Camp Mirage is about family and camaraderie. We play sports, we high-five, we have meals together, we play and share as a community. None of these work with 6-foot social distancing.
COVID-19 has created so many unforeseeable circumstances that continue to change every day and are out of our control. If Michigan reaches a point over the summer, where social distancing measures are lifted, we may make the decision to open. If that happens, we will be emailing our families first.
Camp Mirage will be issuing full refunds in the next week. There is nothing you need to do on your end. The refunds will be issued to the primary credit card you have on file with us. Once the refund is processed by us, you will be emailed a receipt. Please check junk mail. Once you get this receipt, it may take a couple weeks for the refund to be issued on your bank's end. We are told that with the high volume of refunds the banks are processing, it may take longer than expected.
Please give your kiddos huge hugs from us and reassure them that even though we won't be physically together over the summer, we are all still connected. We hope you choose to stand by us during this difficult time and register again next year. Hopefully, we will all come out of this stronger.
Much love from our family to yours.
Cara Trost Director, Camp Mirage"