MAINE, USA — This year's camp season included temperature checks and mask-wearing, but after the extra planning and the unknown, camps that were able to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak feel, "surprised, pleased, elated and breathed a huge sigh of relief," Patty Lifter said.
Lifter is the director of Pine Cliff Camp in Harrison. She said one of the keys to her camp's success this summer was keeping campers and counselors in assigned groups.
"For contact tracing, it makes it much easier if you're dealing with smaller groups," Lifter said.
In a recent study, Pine Cliff and three other Maine overnight camps were named as preventing COVID-19.
That study was done by Dr. Laura Blaisdell who is a public health pediatrician here in Maine. She said camps that were successful, used not just one layer of public health interventions to keep campers safe, but multiple.
Including mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing, self quarantining, temperature checks, and testing.
She said multiple layers were needed because of the nature of overnight camps.
"In summer camps in these congregate living settings we know that coronavirus can take hold and spread very quickly," she said.
Doctor Blaisdell and Lifter agree that camp can be a bit of a bubble, but encourage parents as they get ready to send kids back to school, to make your bubble your community.
"The culture of compliance that we're asking for teachers and educators and students needs to extend into the households of families whose children are attending the privilege of school this year," Dr. Blaisdell said.
For kids who went to camp this year, it was anything but normal, but camp leaders are happy they were able to have a version of camp where kids could spend time outside and see friends.