After a safe, successful and COVID-19 free summer in 2020 we are all looking forward to the Stone Mountain Adventures (SMA) Summer of 2021. Safely running an overnight summer camp in the middle of a pandemic was an incredible achievement and we did so by our vigilance, our devotion to our COVID-19 Protocols and our attention to detail. We required all campers and staff to be tested pre-camp thus creating our COVID-19 Free SMA Bubble.
We partnered with the CDC, the Pennsylvania Health Department, the American Camping Association, local healthcare professionals and an Epidemiologist from Penn State University to create a comprehensive 32 page SMA COVID-19 Protocol Document. These protocols provided a roadmap for how to navigate the complicated nuances of safely running an overnight camp during a pandemic. COVID-19 will likely be with us in some form this summer and we will be ready. The success we achieved last summer has prepared us to provide another healthy summer at SMA in Central PA. Here is an overview of our COVID-19 Protocol from 2020.
Pre-Camp COVID-19 Prevention
We required campers to take the following steps in the weeks leading up to the opening day of each 2 Week Session:
COVID-19 Prevention on Opening and Closing Days of Camp
We significantly modified the drop-off and pick-up procedures on the opening and closing days of each session to mitigate potential contact.
COVID-19 Prevention during each session
For the most part our day-to-day camp experience was the same, with a few changes outlined below:
COVID-19 Detection Protocols During Camp
Our promise to deliver a safe and responsible summer program while maintaining the classic Stone Mountain Adventures experience required us to take the following COVID-19 Detection Protocols:
Response Protocol
In order to prevent a camp-wide outbreak, we have developed the following response protocols should a camper or staff present with COVID-19 symptoms.
Conclusion
Stone Mountain Adventures was a closed community in 2020 for all campers and staff. That allowed us to minimize the risk of someone unknowingly being exposed to the virus outside of camp and then bringing it into camp
The above protocols were put in place to ensure the safety of our campers, their families, our summer staff, our support staff and our local community. By abiding by the protocol we were able to run a successful summer program without fear of an outbreak and were able to provide our campers a safe and memorable experience at camp.