JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — With schools just a few weeks away from letting out for summer, camp is right around the corner. Though not all camps are running, many other camps on the First Coast are prepared with necessary safety precautions for campers and staff during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
For many parents worn out from virtual school and gearing themselves up to go back to work, summer camps can’t come soon enough.
However, Candace Burrows, who oversees all YMCA day camps on the First Coast, says for them, camp is going to look a lot different this year, starting with curbside sign-ins and health screenings.
“We’ll be taking temperatures of both the children and the staff,” Burrows told First Coast News.
She adds the YMCA locations are ramping up health and safety precautions for campers and staff to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
“All of our staff will be required to wear face masks at all times throughout camp and everybody as they enter the facility will immediately wash their hands,” Burrows said.
Though campers will see changes like smaller group sizes and no swimming or contact sports, the YMCA is trying to keep things as normal and fun as possible with other activities.
Those will include "spirit days like what you’d see at a high school pep rally," Burrows said, and, "some of those tie-dye activities and things of that nature.”
Though some parents are gung-ho about sending their kids to camp, others are still on the fence.
Burrows, a parent herself, suggests parents call the camps to address any concerns and to “see what they’re doing to meet the guidelines the CDC is asking us to do.”
Parents can further keep their kids safe and prepare them for the changes at camp by talking to them about what to expect, while still getting them excited and in the camp spirit, Burrows said.