Updated May 2022

In March of 2020, the American Camp Association (ACA) and the YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) engaged together to provide educational resources to both day and overnight camps, state and local health departments, and parents/guardians and campers. The educational resources were developed by an independent expert panel coordinated by Environmental Health & Engineering, Inc. (EH&E), a Boston-based consulting firm specializing in environmental health. This expert panel convened specialists in pediatric medicine, camp medicine and nursing, epidemiology, infectious disease management, biological safety, industrial hygiene, organizational design, and other technical specialties. These educational resources were shared with CDC and state and local health departments so that all parties can be informed.

 

Field Guide for Camps on Implementation of CDC Guidance

Introduction

This field guide is designed to provide camp directors and staff with a practical resource and tool kit to implement specific recommendations provided by the CDC in relation to risk reduction at camps. The objective of this field guide was to provide educational materials for camp staff to reduce potential exposures to and spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) the virus that causes COVID-19. The recommendations provided here were designed to be implemented for various types of camps (e.g. adventure/touring; day, resident, backcountry, weekend) and geographic locations and pertain to camps in geographical locations under low and medium mitigation conditions, according to federal guidance. Any recommendations in this guide should also coincide with a given camp’s communicable disease plan.

CDC guidance and recommendations related to masking, testing and vaccination continues to evolve quickly. As a result, ACA recommends following the CDC guidance related to these areas. The Field Guide continues to serve as a guide for the implementation of layered non-pharmaceutical interventions as needed in a camp setting.

CDC Resources

 

Field Guide Table of Contents

 

Action Alerts

 

Support Videos for the Field Guide

 

Please contact ACA if you have questions.