On May 13, 2021, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released Guidance for Overnight Camps, which remains in effect through September 2021 unless otherwise indicated by the CDPH. The CDPH indicated that sleepaway camps in counties in the Red, Orange, and Yellow Tiers may open with modifications effective June 1, 2021. Notably, the Guidance for Overnight Camps contains different requirements for overnight camps whose staff and attendees are fully vaccinated than for overnight camps that have any staff or attendees who are not fully vaccinated. For overnight camps that have any unvaccinated staff or attendees, the CDPH directs that camps should follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for overnight camps, and makes recommendations regarding testing, health screening, cohorting, quarantining and isolation, physical distancing, and face coverings.
The CPDH also updated its guidance for day camps and other supervised youth activities on May 18, 2021. The guidance specifically addresses indoor and outdoor daytime activities involving youth. The CDPH guidance requires day camps and other supervised youth activities to follow certain portions of the COVID-19 and Reopening In-Person Instruction Framework & Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2020-2021 School Year, including the Layers of Safety, Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 Case Response, Closures, and Testing sections. Additionally, day camps and supervised youth activities should post the 2021 COVID-19 Guidance Checklist for Day Camps and Other Supervised Youth Activities Settings in their facility. Day camps and supervised youth activities in counties in the Purple Tier must follow the CDPH Guidance Related to Cohorts – UPDATED March 22, 2021, unless they are already operating at the time their county moves into the Purple Tier.
The CDC also issued guidance for summer camps recently titled Guidance for Operating Youth and Summer Camps during COVID-19, which includes a Readiness and Planning Tool to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 Among Campers and Staff. The CDC guidance applies to all types of youth day and overnight camps and includes guidance on physical distancing, face coverings, symptom screening, healthy hygiene measures, preparing for COVID-19 exposures, cleaning and disinfecting, food service, modification to sports and camp activities, guidance specific to overnight camps, and much more.
The CDC guidance should supplement, rather than supplant the CDPH guidance, with regard to day camps, supervised youth activities, and overnight or sleepaway camps. The CDPH guidance coupled with the CDC guidance may be particularly helpful for those planning camps this summer.