This page provides information on what factors to consider when assessing risk, and considerations for how overnight camps can help protect campers, and staff.
VDH provides the following suggestions for best practices for running overnight summer camps:
Vaccination
- All campers and staff should be vaccinated if eligible, and if unable to be vaccinated should be tested weekly.
- Camps where all staff and campers are vaccinated may have flexibility regarding the implementation of additional prevention strategies, depending on local levels of community transmission. If campers and staff are not fully vaccinated, additional mitigation measures must be layered to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.
Screening
- All camps should develop and implement a plan to decrease the risk of infectious campers and staff entering the camp environment. This plan may include a testing requirement within 1-3 days prior to the beginning of camp, or 14 day symptom screening for the camper and all persons in their household.
- Camp personnel should perform a daily symptom screening of all campers, including upon arrival. Daily screenings must include:
- Fever (temperature 100.4 °F or higher)
- Sore throat
- New cough
- Diarrhea, vomiting, or stomachache
- New onset of severe headache, especially with a fever
- Camps are encouraged to have protocols for streamlined travel and drop-offs with limited interactions between parents and camp personnel and other campers.
- Camps are encouraged to consider regular testing (e.g., weekly if feasible) for unvaccinated staff members.
Masking
- Campers, staff, and visitors should follow guidelines outlined in CDC Guidance for Operating Youth Camps [Español] as well as the most current CDC masking recommendations.
- VDH’s K-12 Interim Guidance, while designed for school settings, may be useful to camps as a tool for evaluating when and how to implement additional prevention layers (e.g., masking, distancing,cohorting, etc.).
- A group of campers and staff cohabitating in the same sleeping space are considered a cohort; mask recommendations do not apply unless persons are in the presence of campers or staff outside of their camp cohort, or are in an indoor public place that is shared with other campers or staff.
- While masking may not be required, camp programs should be supportive of campers and staff who choose to wear a mask.
Cohorts
- If not all campers and staff are fully vaccinated, camps are strongly encouraged to employ the use of cohorts for the first 14 days of any camp session.
- To be effective, cohorts should not be mixed, including during meal times, for at least 14 days
- When any camper or staff is traveling throughout the camp or near other cohorts, strict six feet of physical distancing and mask wearing are encouraged.
- Staff should not have close contact with campers in multiple cohorts, with the exception of medical services or any event where close contact is necessary for the health or safety of a camper.
Signage
- Camps are encouraged to post signage to provide public health reminders regarding physical distancing, hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and reporting symptoms if sick. Signs should use age-appropriate language to be understandable by campers.
- See signage tab for available options
- Communicate camp COVID-19 procedures and camp departure protocols to parents/caregivers before the beginning of camp.
- Develop and maintain close communication with the local health department and community leaders. Camps are strongly encouraged to have a plan for how they will test campers for COVID-19 when needed and collaborate with the local health department and community care providers in the development of this plan.
- Unless a child needs medical attention, it is recommended that the entire cohort quarantine together in the instance of a suspected or confirmed case.
- Prioritize outdoor activities and limit all-camp gatherings or activities that include participants from multiple cohorts to those that can take place outside.
- Have staff and campers dine in well-ventilated areas. Create a plan for structured food distribution to avoid congregation areas.
- Limit shared items, such as condiment bottles, sports equipment, and self-serve utensils.
- Limit off-campus activities to those that minimize camper and staff exposure to the community.
- This includes being clear with staff about expectations on their days off.
- Camps may consider reducing occupancy when necessary to maintain cohorts and the separation of staff working with separate cohorts. As campers in the same sleeping area can be considered of the same Family for the duration of camp, decreasing occupancy to increase sleeping distance is not necessary
Additional Considerations:
Staff, parents, and campers should be advised of high-risk pre-camp activities and behaviors that could result in exposure to and introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into camp.
Camps should communicate to parents and caregivers before camp about the response steps in the event of a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 in camp.
Camps should train all staff on all prevention, isolation & quarantine, symptom screening, and hand hygiene plans, including their role in compliance with prevention guidelines. Staff should be educated on the role of hand/respiratory hygiene and proper wearing of masks, and how to teach and reinforce these measures for campers.
Additional Resources:
Cohorting is strongly encouraged for the duration of camp when not all campers and staff are fully vaccinated, especially the first 14 days of any camp session. Cohorts are groups of campers and staff that are grouped together and treated as a household for the duration of cohorting. Cohorting protects your camp by limiting the spread of COVID-19 should any campers or staff contract the virus, and making contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation easier to execute.
Cohorting FAQs:
May I still have all camp gatherings while I am cohorting?
Yes—all camp gatherings are still possible, but campers and staff who are not fully vaccinated should wear masks, and cohorts should be distinctly separated. Camps may wish to minimize all-camp gatherings, and limit them to outdoor activities (e.g. bonfires).
Are staff restricted on their days off?
Camps are strongly encouraged to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic by encouraging COVID- safe behaviors during time off. These include minimizing exposure to outside groups and high risk settings (e.g. crowds, bars & nightclubs) and ensuring that any ‘time off’ housing provided for staff does not mix staff assigned to different cohorts.
Should instructors teach campers not in their cohort?
Yes, as long as the nature of the activity allows for social distancing and mask wearing for persons who are not fully vaccinated.
What activities are highest risk?
Any activity that puts a camper in a high probability of close contact with a camper or staff member not in their cohort (during cohort requirement period). Examples include tag or sports with another cohort, or learning archery with an instructor not assigned to that cohort.
What do I do if my cohorts accidentally mix?
Immediately address the situation and return campers to their own cohort. Make a note of the time and duration of the accidental mixing, as this information will be needed for contact tracing in the event that any camper in these cohorts shows symptoms or tests positive for COVID-19.
CDC recommends [Español] weekly screening testing of unvaccinated camp staff who may oversee multiple cohorts of campers over the summer. Screening testing can help identify those who are asymptomatic and do not have known, suspected, or reported exposure of the virus that causes COVID-19 and prevent further transmission. Screening testing is particularly valuable in areas with moderate, substantial, and high levels of community transmission.
For overnight camps, CDC also recommends that camp organizers ask campers and staff who are not fully vaccinated to provide proof of a negative viral test taken no more than 1–3 days before arriving at camp, and delay arrival for campers or staff with confirmed positive test results.
- CDC does not recommend getting tested again in the three months after a positive viral test if the person does not have symptoms of COVID-19. Campers and staff who have had a positive viral test in the 3 months prior to starting camp and have met the criteria to end isolation should have a letter from their healthcare provider documenting the positive test date and stating the individual is cleared to end isolation.
For camp sessions that last at least one week, camps should consider conducting screening testing 3–5 days after arrival at camp, in accordance with CDC travel guidance [Español]. Fully vaccinated [Español] asymptomatic people without an exposure can refrain from routine screening testing. For more information about testing and summer camps, visit CDC’s Guidance for Operating Youth and Summer Camps during COVID-19. [Español]
VDH has BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Testing resources available free of charge for overnight camps. Here is a link to a step by step process for obtaining free testing supplies from VDH. All of the following criteria must be met in order to obtain resources, and is referred to in this “getting started” document:
- Obtain CLIA Certificate of Waiver – All point-of-care antigen tests are CLIA waived. Facilities may obtain a certificate of waiver to provide only the COVID-19 waived tests. They may apply for a multi-site exception when they submit their application. To obtain a new certificate or waiver or to make changes to your existing CLIA certificate, send an email with your CLIA number (if available) to clialab@vdh.virginia.gov. The FDA website lists the CLIA status of available tests. See the column on the right-hand side of the page with the heading "Authorized Settings." This provides the CLIA designation for that test.
- Training – Abbott, the maker of BinaxNOW, offers a free online training; Abbott also offers webinars (Please email our Abbott representative Mariama Forth at mariama.forth@abbott.com to schedule a webinar).
- Prescriber – Someone with prescriptive authority must write an order for the test (a standing order is acceptable) and review the result.
- Report results to VDH – Test results need to be reported to VDH via reporting portal.
Camps can choose to implement two different types of in-camp testing: diagnostic testing or screening testing.
- Diagnostic testing is intended to determine whether an individual with symptoms of COVID-19 or a close contact of a suspected case of COVID-19 is infected with the virus.
- Screening testing is intended to proactively identify asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals who have been infected with COVID-19. Screening testing is particularly valuable in areas with moderate, substantial, and high levels of community transmission. Please see the VDH Pandemic Metrics Dashboard for community transmission data for your area.
- The CDC provides additional guidance for overnight camp [Español] settings, including screening testing, and states for camp sessions that last at least one week, screening testing should be done 3–5 days after arrival at camp in accordance with CDC travel guidance [Español]. Fully vaccinated [Español] asymptomatic people without an exposure can refrain from routine screening testing.
Camps may refer to the VDH K-12 Testing Guidance for further information and a toolkit of resources. **Please note that the K-12 Statewide Standing Order DOES NOT apply to summer camps. Each camp will need to obtain their own standing order from an authorized prescriber for in-camp COVID-19 testing.
For more information on obtaining free of charge COVID-19 testing resources, or for any questions about COVID-19 testing, please contact antigeninfo@vdh.virginia.gov.
Additional Resources:
COVID-19 Testing Sites - Virginia
VDH Antigen Testing Recommendations
VDH’s guide to contact tracing
VDH When it is Safe to be Around Others: Ending Isolation in Non Healthcare Settings Infographic
CDC’s Guidance for Operating Youth and Summer Camps during COVID-19 [Español]
Field Guide for Camps on Implementation of CDC Guidance
VDH Camp Testing Webinar Slides (5/5/2021)
FAQ's
What if a camper shows symptoms of COVID-19?
Camps should pursue testing of the symptomatic camper, and take steps to reduce the risk of the potentially positive camper from passing the virus to the rest of their cohort. Appropriate measures include isolating the ill camper (removing the camper from a common sleeping area, and ensuring that masks and social distancing are observed whenever the potentially positive camper is in the presence of others)
Determine if the worker needs medical care. Most cases of COVID-19 are mild and do not require medical care. In these situations, campers can be isolated in camp. If the camper is severely ill, then refer to a healthcare facility and call ahead to the facility before arrival.
If multiple campers in a cohort are showing symptoms and it is likely that the entire cohort has been exposed, it may be more appropriate to consider the entire cohort in Quarantine until test results for symptomatic campers can be obtained.
What should I do if a camper tests positive?
Camps should follow their isolation and quarantine plan, and the positive camper must be placed in isolation (see the Isolation and Quarantine tab).
While Parents may elect to come pick their child up from camp, parents and camps are encouraged to consider the possible risks of introducing COVID-19 into the camper’s household and community. In many cases, especially when camps have longer, multi-week sessions, campers/cohorts positive for COVID-19 can participate in altered camp activities designed for an isolating cohort.
When can a cohort or camper be released from quarantine?
The most protective and strongest recommended strategy is to keep any exposed camper in quarantine for 14 days after the last potential exposure to a positive case. Alternatively, a cohort/camper may return to any camp activities where a mask is worn and social distancing is observed after 11 days from the last potential exposure if no symptoms are present in the camper/cohort. If campers/cohorts are tested 5-7 days after the last potential exposure using a method designed to test active infection (PCR, antigen, or nucleic acid tests) and test results are negative, may return to any camp activities where a mask is worn and social distancing is observed after day 8. In any case where these methodologies result in campers/cohorts returning to camp activities prior to day 14, the camper/cohort would need to be outside and separated from other capers for any activities that require the removal of a mask (e.g. meals served outside the cohort bunk).
What is a close contact?
An exposure (or potential exposure) to COVID-19 is defined as having close contact with a person with COVID-19 while they were contagious. Close contact includes:
- being within 6 feet of a person who has COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period, or
- having exposure to a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19’s respiratory secretions (e.g., coughed or sneezed on; shared a drinking glass or utensils; kissing); or
- being a household contact of a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19; or
- providing care for a person with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
Additional Resources:
VDH When it is Safe to be Around Others: Ending Isolation in Non Healthcare Settings Infographic
Different activities have different levels of risk based on intensity of interaction, level of physical exertion (increased respiration), and degree of ventilation (indoors vs. outdoors). When not all campers and staff are completely vaccinated, camp operators are encouraged to evaluate traditional camp activities, and make adjustments to prioritize those that carry the lowest levels of risk.
Lowest Risk:
Outdoor activities, of any exertion level, where only one cohort is present (e.g. sports, tag, swimming, crafts) when any equipment is disinfected prior to cohort use, and campers have no close contact with instructors outside their cohort.
Camp field trips with little to no potential for community interaction (e.g. hiking, kayaking, cohorts kept separate), and campers are only driven by staff in their own cohort.
Campers eat in a well ventilated area, or outdoors, only with their own cohort.
Medium-Low Risk
Indoor activities of low exertion where campers maintain physical distancing from instructors/staff not in their cohort, and masks are required (e.g. indoor pottery, arts & crafts, STEM activities).
Campers eat indoors in a shared space, but only with their own cohort.
Outdoor gatherings of cohorts with at least 6 feet between cohorts for low exertion activities (group movies).
Medium-High Risk
Indoor activities of high exertion where campers maintain physical distancing from instructors/staff not in their cohort, and masks are required (e.g.indoor sports, exercise/workouts).
Outdoor gatherings of multiple cohorts with at least 10 feet between cohorts during medium-high exertion activities (singing, chanting, performances).
Several cohorts share an indoor dining area at one time, but cohorts sit separately and are at least 6 feet socially distanced from one another.
High Risk
Campers and staff exiting and returning to camps following high-risk activities (socials such as parties/bars, family events such as weddings, reunions).
Camp field trips where campers from more than one cohort share transportation (two cohorts, but seated separately in a large bus, campers driven by staff not in their cohort.
Camp field trips or overnight trips with high potential for community interaction (e.g. theme parks, water parks, indoor museums, shopping centers).
All campers eat indoors at the same time, but cohorts are at least 6 feet physically distanced from one another.
Highest Risk Activities
Any game or sport that involves probable close contact between campers in different cohorts (multi-cohort capture the flag, soccer, laser tag, etc.).
Activities that require close contact between instructors and campers not in their cohort (e.g. beginner archery, unless the instructor is of the same cohort as the camper).
Socials, competitions, or other events with campers from another camp.
For more information on how activity instruction works with the use of cohorts, visit the Cohorting tab on this page.
- American Camp Association: Field Guide for Camps
- American Camp Association: Guidance for Activities
- American Camp Association: Content and Resources
- Center for Disease Control: Suggestions for Youth Summer Camps
- Center for Disease Control: Readiness and Planning Tool
- EHE Model State Guidelines for Overnight Camps
- Harvard Univeristy: Types of COVID-19 Tests
- VDH Algorithm for evaluating a child with COVID-19 symptoms or exposure
- COVID-19 testing sites in Virginia
- VDH-American Camp Association Webinar
- Department of Labor and Industry Final Standard FAQs
