“If camps follow the guidelines, campers can attend safely.”

Kids in New York will have more opportunities for fun this summer. Day and overnight summer camps will reopen in June. Day camps were allowed to operate at limited capacities last summer but sleepaway camps were closed the entire season. Here’s a look at which guidelines are in place to keep everyone safe.

Cheering for a teammate, dribbling a basketball, learning to play tennis and soccer… these are the sights and sounds of summer camp that Will Pierce hopes to bring back this summer. Will Pierce is the owner and director of Pierce Country Day Camp in Roslyn, NY. It won’t be long before children are back here. Camp ran last year at a reduced capacity. Will Pierce says “We will only operate if we can do so safely. We operated at a group maximum of 15 campers, all staff were in face masks, and we had a daily health screening.” This year Pierce hopes to increase the group sizes but continuing the protocols that kept them safe – sanitizing equipment and having the staff members wear masks. Pierce says “We had over 700 people here every single day with zero cases.”

According to a recent Duke University study that examined 54 YMCA camps in North Carolina during the pandemic, there were only 19 symptomatic cases out of nearly 7,000 campers and staff. “Camp is a very controlled environment. It always is.” According to Susie Lupert, Executive Director of American Camp Association New York-New Jersey. This year Governor Cuomo has allowed sleepaway camps to reopen. Lupert believes if camps follow the guidelines campers can attend safely.