New York Releases Child Care And Day Camp Reopening Guidelines

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that summer day camps are allowed to open, along with child care locations, on June 29th 2020. The New York State Health Department has released a detailed plan of guidelines needed in order to open and operate.

There are several "Mandatory" actions needed, along with "Recommended Best Practices" on the plan. This plan is similar to hat restaurants are currently facing with reopening. One major rule mentioned is that any time that counselors are fewer than 6 feet from each other or interacting with children/campers, they must wear a face covering.

You can read the full list of regulations from New York State. Here's a highlight of some major changes:

1) Ensure employee and children/camper groupings are as static as possible by having the same group of children/campers stay with the same staff whenever and wherever possible. Group size must be limited to no more than 10 children/campers (not including employees/staff).

2) Ensure employees wear face coverings any time they are 6 ft. apart from one another, and at all times when interacting with children/campers, regardless of distance.

3) Limit the sharing of objects (e.g. electronic equipment, arts and crafts materials, touch screens) and discourage touching of shared surfaces; or, when in contact with shared objects or frequently touched areas, require employees to wear gloves

For outdoor activities, there are plenty of regulations as well. Some seem common sense of course, but others do not:

For pool and aquatic activities:
• Ensure face coverings are not worn while in the
water;
• Keep stable groups of children/campers
separated;
• Encourage water activities where staff can
safely supervise older children/campers in the
water without being in the water by themselves.
• Ensure appropriate social distancing is kept, to
the extent possible;
• Enhance cleaning and disinfection protocols;"

You can read the full list from the State Of New York.