Hello to our camp families and friends,
March greetings to all of you! At Betsey Cox and Sangamon, March is always a busy month filled with fun and imaginative tasks as winter turns to spring and we prepare for another summer at camp.
This year, the international and national news around COVID-19 adds another layer to our preparations. We write today to engage you with our current thinking about the upcoming summer. At this point, based on current information we have diligently and thoughtfully studied (from various resources including CDC, Health Departments, and American Camp Association) we plan for our 2020 camp season to run as scheduled. That said, and of course, we will continue to monitor the situation and will stay in close touch with you as growing knowledge about COVID-19 continues and as plans may shift and change.
Here are facts we would like to share with you to date, as we all prepare for camp;
* We will continue our annual assessment, review and update of our cleaning protocols, healthcare practices, arrival health screening at check in, and medical protocols in collaboration with our medical staff and advisors.
*Our annual pre-camp/post-winter deep cleanup will be done with the CDC and Health Department’s COVID-19 specific recommendations in place.
*Our health-care screening of all campers and staff will begin well before camp begins this year. Specifically, in early June, we will survey parents and staff regarding their recent health history. Our screening will include relevant questions that are being developed currently and will be in collaboration with the ACA, WHO, and CDC recommendations.
*We will be reviewing our daily sanitation policies and protocols and will make plans to upgrade even further, our handwashing expectations for every one of us.
*We will be discussing the COVID-19 situation with staff and campers coming from overseas, specifically analyzing the situation in their home countries. Proper individual and camp-protective decisions will be made about attendance.
*As has always been the case, camp reserves the right to send a child or a staff member home if they are diagnosed with a communicable disease while at camp.
*Staff training will continue to include information on recognizing and bringing to our on-site health care professionals, symptoms of any communicable diseases.
We recognize that these are uncertain, stressful times for all of us. We don’t know enough right now to understand what the world will look like in June when camp staff begin to arrive, nor are we able to predict how our knowledge of the virus and its effects on the United States as a whole may change our circumstances. We can promise to keep you informed of any changes in our plans and our health protocols. In times of stress we are even more committed than usual to our philosophy of community and our need to care for each other. We believe in the inspiration, imagination, and actions that our camps bring into the world, and that allows us, even in these uncertain times, to look forward with enthusiasm and optimism to the summer ahead.
Take care, be well, and feel free to send along any questions.
Lorrie and Devri Byrom
