Covid-19 Update

Virginia Outside Covid-19 Guidelines

May 2020

COVID-19 SCREENING

Virginia Outside will require that all of our participants and staff undergo a screening process prior to and during camp to ensure the health and safety of our staff, campers, and their families. This screening process was created based on recommendations from the American Camp Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

*We have been adjusting our Covid protocols as Virginia has moved into different phases of reopening. We are now accepting 10 campers per group, instead of 8.

PRE-SCREENING:

• Take and record the camper’s temperature for 5 days leading up to and the morning of the first day of camp
• Self-screening for the presence of symptoms (fever of 100.4 °F or greater, cough, shortness of breath, diarrhea, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, nausea, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, vomiting, etc.) within the past two weeks.
• Determining if, within the past two weeks, the individual has traveled nationally or internationally
• Determining if the individual has been in close contact with a person who has been diagnosed with, tested for, or quarantined as a result of COVID-19.

A Pre-Screening form will be sent to parents via email at least one week prior to the first day of camp. Parents/guardians will be required to sign off that they have covered all of these pre-screening procedures to ensure that their child is healthy and they will not compromise the health of other campers or staff. The form will need to be returned to your camper’s head counselor on the first day of the camp week.

INITIAL SCREENING:

• Upon arrival to camp, campers (and their parents/guardians) will be asked if they have any COVID-19 symptoms. Symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), include:
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Fever
  • Chills
  • Muscle pain
  • Sore throat
  • New loss of taste or smell

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html

This Initial Screening on the first day of camp includes many, if not all, of the same screenings as our Pre-Screening process but it is necessary to help our staff determine if your child is permitted to attend camp or if they require additional screening and evaluation by a medical professional. This redundancy is to help us better ensure the health and safety of all campers, parents/guardians, and staff involved. 

ONGOING SCREENING:

• We ask that parents/guardians continue to monitor their campers’s temperature and any health symptoms that may be related to COVID-19 throughout their week at camp. With the nature of most of our day camps, it is an obvious worry that since campers and their parents /guardians are likely to interact with the general public on a daily basis there is an increased likelihood of infection. 
• Please, DO NOT bring your child to camp if they are exhibiting any symptoms. Please call our staff so that we may inform the families of other campers

CAMP PROTOCOLS DURING COVID-19

We look forward to providing the same fun-filled weeks of adventure to our campers this summer as we have over the past 15 years but we will obviously be making some adjustments to our camps to ensure that we can provide a safe, healthy environment for your child and our staff. 

These protocols stem from recommendations made by the American Camp Association & Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.These protocols outline the guidelines for campers during each day and recommended practices for parents to help reduce the spread of Covid-19. 

Hand Hygiene:

• Hand sanitizer will be provided for campers and staff by Virginia Outside
• Campers will be asked to sanitize their hands upon drop off and various times throughout the day including: 
  • Before and after riding in the van
  • Before and after eating
  • After using the bathroom
  • After coughing, sneezing, or blowing their nose
  • After putting on & removing face coverings

Cloth Face Coverings:

• Staff will wear face coverings at all times
• Campers will be required to wear face coverings whenever social distancing is not possible. This includes:
  • When riding in the van
  • While group gear is being passed out by staff
• Recommended face coverings: Buffs, cloth face coverings that will dry quickly & stay on while being active

Camper Drop Off/Pick Up:

• Parents/guardians are encouraged to practice behaviors that reduce the spread of Covid-19 while dropping off and picking up campers 
• Minimize time saying goodbye to your campers. Stay inside or close to your vehicle
• Maintain physical distance with other parents and campers
• Wear a face covering upon exiting your vehicle 
• Designate one person to drop off & pick up to reduce exposure
• Allow campers to wash their hands or use hand sanitizer upon arrival back at home

Transportation:

• We will be minimizing our travel by using local ponds, trails, & rivers more frequently instead of traveling out of the local area during this camp season to limit the amount of time our campers spend in the van
• All staff & campers will be required to wear face coverings while traveling together in our 15 passenger vans. 
• We are limiting the maximum number of kids in the van to 10 to ensure there is at least one empty seat in between each camper
• Campers will be assigned seats and be instructed to enter & exit the van, one by one, in order of seating to keep physical distance between each other as much as possible
• Staff will administer hand sanitizer to each camper upon entering & exiting the vehicle 
• Younger campers that may need help with car seats and seatbelts will be aided by a staff member wearing the appropriate face covering and gloves
• Once on site, all gear and personal items will be taken out of the van so that it does not need to be accessed throughout the day by campers
• Vans will be cleaned and disinfected at the end of each day by our staff

Shared Objects:

• Fishing
  • Fishing rods will be assigned to individual campers each day. Campers will be discouraged from sharing or switching rods with others during the day. 
  • Rods will be collected by the counselors and disinfected every day before they are stored back in the van. 
  • Tackle will be distributed by counselors only. 
• Kayaks & Paddles
  • During kayaking camp, campers will be assigned a kayak & paddle each day and instructed not to trade or share their boat or paddle with other campers
  • Kayaks and paddles will be cleaned & disinfected at the end of each day
• Mountain Biking
  • We encourage campers to bring their own bike, if possible.
  • Campers using Virginia Outside’s bikes will be assigned a bike for the week to prevent sharing between campers
  • Bikes will be cleaned & disinfected at the end of each day 
• Personal Floatation Devices (Life jackets)
  • We are encouraging campers to bring their own life jackets, if possible
  • On days when life jackets are in use, campers will each be assigned a life jacket and instructed not to trade or share life jackets with other campers
  • Life jackets will be cleaned and disinfected after each use

Food:

• Campers will be instructed not to share or trade any food with each other that they brought from home
• Campers and staff will not be allowed to eat while inside of the vans

Parents/Guardians

• Please have a conversation with your child about following these new protocols during camp. Practicing these new habits such as wearing a face covering, social distancing, and coughing into a sleeve starts at home.
• Campers who refuse to follow these new health protocols may be asked not to return to camp for the remainder of the camp week for the health and safety of other campers and staff
• Generally, teach and practice good respiratory hygiene/cough etiquette within the household
• Individuals who are at higher-risk for severe illness per CDC guidance should not drop off/pick up campers
• Please pay close attention to pick up/drop off times and understand that these may take longer than usual. We ask that you be patient with our staff and other parents/guardians especially on the first day of camp while we deal with screening, forms, etc.