DETROIT – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued new guidance when it comes to kids and summer camps.
Now the agency says children should be kept in pods where they will be at least three feet apart from each other.
Last year many youth and summer camps made the tough decision to cancel or go virtual, but this year many will be in person. The CDC’s new guidelines aim to keep children safe.
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While many people will be vaccinated by this summer, COVID-19 still remains as a big threat to children as no vaccine has been approved for anyone under the age of 16. This is why the CDC says in person youth summer camps will still need strict guidelines.
Paula Ramano is the director of the Roeper Summer Camp in Bloomfield Hills. Last year was all online but when camp starts on June 28 it will be in person
“So camp is running very similar to what the CDC has recommended. We’re running in small cohorts of 15 to 16 students with two or three staff members that will be dedicated to those groups.
She knows there will likely be instances where campers come to camp with COVID-19 which is why following the CDC’s guidelines will be crucial to keep camp running.
“When you have the kids in cohorts, you only have to quarantine that cohort versus shutting all of camp down because they won’t have had direct contact,” she said.
She also says the majority of the Roeper summer camp will be outdoors where COVID-19 is less of a threat.
Masks and social distancing will also be enforced.
Another thing to expect this summer is limited openings at summer camp. Ramano says typically they’ve been able to open up camp to around 430 campers. This year they’re capping it at 300.
The Roeper summer day camp says it will be encouraging their staff members to get vaccinated if they aren’t already. They plan to train the counselors in smaller groups to keep up with social distancing.