COVID Safety in 2023
For summer 2023, camp’s Covid protocols are designed to allow us to provide the best summer camp experience to our campers while keeping everyone safe. These protocols include, but are not limited to:
- All staff and campers must be “up-to-date” on their Covid-19 vaccinations. Per the CDC, this means they have received every Covid shot they are eligible for, including boosters.
- During the week before a camper’s session begins, they must test negative twice using an over-the-counter rapid antigen test. Once on Tuesday that week, and again on Friday.
- For the first 5-6 days of camp, we will eat all meals outdoors and all campers will wear masks whenever they are indoors, as well as on the bus to camp and on the raft trip van.
- At camp, with the first sign of sniffles, sore throat, cough, or any other Covid symptom, we will test campers for Covid-19. If they test positive, we will contact parents to arrange pick-up as soon as possible. If they test negative, but still have symptoms, they may be moved into their own tent, may eat apart from other campers and staff, and may not be allowed to take the bus home. We want to avoid spreading any type of virus in the camp community.
How Deer Crossing Handled Covid in 2021
We have a variety of protective measures in place to keep COVID out of camp and keep everyone safe. We also want to everyone at camp to feel that they are treated fairly, so this summer’s protocols apply to all campers and staff.
- To protect our larger communities, we encourage everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.
- All of Deer Crossing Camp’s staff will be fully vaccinated before campers arrive.
- Campers and their families should engage in low-risk activities during the 10 days before the camper’s session starts.
- Campers will be screened prior to boarding the bus or hiking in to camp with a series of questions.
- All campers taking the bus to and/or from camp must wear a mask while on the bus. This includes staff supervisors and the bus driver. Campers on the bus must bring their own bag lunches, which will be eaten outside the bus during the Sacramento stop. (No In-N-Out lunches this year.)
- As usual, camper health will be screened upon arrival at camp, which may include temperature checks.
- Campers will be assigned to cohorts for meals, sleeping, and any activities where physical distancing is not possible.
- Face masks will be worn whenever someone goes indoors, which for most campers will be to use the bathrooms. The only exceptions are when fully vaccinated staff are together indoors, such as working in the kitchen or preparing for classes.
- We have installed handwashing stations outside the lodge to minimize the need for campers to enter the building.
- As much as possible, activities and meals will be conducted outdoors, not in the lodge. This year’s screened dining gazebos will protect diners from insects, and provide a space for each cohort to play board games and hang out.
- Should a camper present with symptoms that mimic COVID and are not explained by existing conditions as described on their health forms, we may test them with a rapid-test at camp. If the result is positive, we will immediately isolate the camper in our 2021 Isolation Tent and notify their parents to arrange pick-up at Loon Lake. Campers and staff in their cohort may be quarantined together, kept separate from other cohorts for camp activities, and monitored for symptoms.
If you have any questions or just want to talk about the situation, please don’t hesitate to call us at 650-369-4382. We are ready for camp!