CDC Changes Guidelines for Camps

The CDC has issued updated guidelines for camps, relaxing some of its most controversial previous suggestions.  The biggest change is that the guidelines no longer recommend masks for most outdoor activities.  The guidance still recommends keeping campers in the same cohort and enforcing physical distancing among unvaccinated campers and staff.  

The guidance about masks is now more nuanced.  Fully vaccinated campers and staff need not wear masks, even indoors.  Given that vaccines are not available for children under 12, few camps will be able to dispense entirely with a mask requirement.  Even with older campers, many camps may choose to still require masks for everyone rather than have to differentiate between those who have been vaccinated and those who have not.  The guidance recognizes the current science that outdoor transmission rates are very low, and notes that people “in general” do not need to wear masks outdoors.  It does still recommend masks  in crowds and activities that involve “sustained close contact” with unvaccinated people.

That guidance is cautious and likely not practical for most camp sports.  According to more recent studies gathered in the COVID-19 School and Community Resource Library, there are very few documented instances of transmission during sports play.  The CDC guidance is not binding, unless your licensing agency or state/local government has adopted it.  The guidelines do inform the standard of care for youth organizations, though, so you should be certain that, if you depart from them, you know the science foundation for your decision.

Whatever you decide about masks and other precautions, be certain that you have explained them to the parents who sent their children to your camp.  Get the parents’ approval, in the form of a legal release and waiver, for your protocol.  Although coronavirus poses a low risk to children, the risk is greater than zero, and you need to be certain that the parents of your children have agreed to your camp’s precautions.