Georgia Summer Camps Plan To Open After Shelter-In-Place Lifts

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It's still too early to tell how the coronavirus pandemic will affect summer camps throughout the state.

It's still too early to tell how the coronavirus pandemic will affect summer camps throughout the state.

The next few weeks will determine the fate of summer events, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a White House press briefing Wednesday.

"You know, it is unpredictable, but you can get a feel for it if we start talking about the things where the curve goes down," Fauci said. "How we respond and what kind of a rebound we see or don't see, I think is going to have a lot of influence probably more immediately on things like summer camps than it does in the fall."

So far, many Georgia summer camps are planning to stay open in spite of the pandemic.

RELATED: Emory Global Health Expert Says Peak Day For COVID-19 Deaths Could Be Easter Sunday

Winshape Camps, which operates summer camps around the country including several in Georgia, said they were taking precautionary measures. The camps have begun instituting mandatory testing upon arrival for campers, and screening for symptoms of COVID-19. They also have plans to isolate any campers that begin displaying symptoms.

The camps have also begun instituting new cleaning protocols for their lodging, with an emphasis on disinfecting what they call "high touch areas."

And campers will be encouraged to use hand sanitizer each time they enter and exit a building.

Camp Woodmont in Cloudland, which is in the northeast corner of the state close to the Alabama and Tennessee borders, also plans to stay open and welcome campers.

"We believe that by the time summer rolls around, children will be itching to get out of the house and parents will be excited to see their kids having fun and away from all the negativity," the camp said. "We feel that the summer of 2020 will be the most important camp season in our children’s lives. Positive face-to-face social interactions, like camp, are so important and needed in today’s environment."

The camp said they will be enhancing their protocols in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations around COVID-19.

As of noon Friday, March 10, there are 11,483 confirmed cases in Georgia, according to the state health department. Of those, 416 people have died.  Infectious disease experts say Easter Sunday could be the peak day for COVID-19 deaths in the United States.