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05/26/2020 03:18 PMOn May 18, Governor Ned Lamont issued directions for summer camps, prohibiting overnight camps for the duration of the health emergency, and directing day camps to follow the restrictions placed on daycare centers in his Executive Order 7Q, issued on March 30, as well as the orders issued by the commissioner of the state’s Office of Early Childhood.
The Valley Shore YMCA (VSYMCA) offers two day-camp programs, Camp Shore, which takes place at the VSYMCA itself, and Camp Echo Rock, held at Powers Lake in East Lyme. Camp Shore will begin on Monday, June 22 and Camp Echo Rock on Monday, June 29 and staff have been planning and deliberating on how best to proceed for months now.
“Some of the changes that we’re going to have to live with limit our group sizes to 10, and each [group] has to be isolated from other groups,” said VSYMCA Director of Operations Tony Sharillo, who oversees both camps.
“There’s a traditional way we’ve eaten lunch and gathered for the day,” he explained. “Usually we gather to sing a song, tell silly jokes, or have a skit. We’ll have to find new ways to kick off our day.”
This summer, campers will be divided into groups of 10, and each of these groups, together with their counselors, will function as a sort of family unit, maintaining social distancing from other campers, counselors, and staff. This will make gatherings and other traditional aspects of camp particularly challenging this year.
Cleaning will have to take place more often and portable bathrooms will be set up “to ensure that [only] one group is in there at a time,” Sharillo said.
The camp’s pick-up and drop-off procedures have allowed parents to remain in their cars. This year, each camp group will have its own pick-up and drop-off time in order to prevent, as far as possible, interaction with other groups.
Equipment sharing is another issue staff is addressing.
“Which equipment can we share? Which group should have their own?” are questions the staff are wrestling with in the remaining weeks leading up to the opening of camp, said Sharillo. Some camps are issuing each small group its own equipment that only it can use. Others are scheduling time for equipment to be disinfected in between sessions.
VSYMCA, Sharillo said, has decided to eliminate specialized instructors for activities that require instructors and campers to be too close together.
“We do believe that our archery instructor can provide instruction while maintaining that social distance,” he said. “The counselor will assist the campers if they need it.”
This arrangement will eliminate the scenario in which an instructor teaches a group of kids early in the day, comes into contact with a camper infected with COVID-19, and then passes the virus on to others.
Camp “[d]irectors and our specialty area staff are going to maintain social distancing throughout the day,” Sharillo said.
The question remains what social distancing would look like for lifeguards, if pools are allowed to open, a question that hasn’t yet been resolved. VSYMCA lifeguards are trained to use a bag-valve-mask resuscitator in cases of emergency. This entails placing a mask over the face that is attached to a large bag of air. Rescuers wear gloves, eliminating the need for direct contact. Sharillo said he is discussing details of this plan with the Red Cross and getting his questions answered.
Safety is the foundation for all camp activities.
“You want to keep everybody safe as possible,” Sharillo said. “And then you add in the fun after. We’re figuring out the best way to keep people safe and then we’re going to make it feel like camp.