COVID-19 shuts down some KY summer camps. Others revamp to open in-person or virtually.

A poem on Lexington’s Pepperhill Farm Summer Day Camp website speaks to the uncertainty that has surrounded the opening of summer camps in Kentucky during the COVID-19 outbreak.

“We have our plastic shields, our green face mask too!, “ the poem says. “An inferred temperature (gauge) is waiting for you. The Pepperhill staff is doing all we can do. Now Governor Andy we are waiting on you, so please come through.”

Gov. Andy Beshear said at his daily coronavirus news conference Tuesday that summer camps can open June 15, the same day as some child care centers which have been shut down, if camps can meet the significant requirements expected of child care facilities.

The requirements were released Thursday and include staggered playground visits and no field trips. The maximum group size will be 10 children in a group. Children will remain in the same groups all day and staff will be assigned to the same children. All adults must wear a face mask. Children 5 or younger should not wear masks, but older children may wear masks as they are able, state officials said.

“It’s going to be a challenge in some instances,” Beshear said.

Families who depend on summer camps for child care are in a fluid, wait-and-see situation that they’ve faced on many fronts since the COVID-19 outbreak in March

Fayette County schools, which began at-home instruction in March, is wrapping up the academic year May 27. While some summer camps are moving ahead with in-person camps, others have canceled certain weeks or the entire summer camp. Still others have transitioned to a virtual camp.

Barbara Stephens, owner and director of Pepperhill Farm Summer Day Camp, said that “we’re ready” to open an in-person camp with social distancing, extra cleaning and the implementation of federal guidelines.

Jerry Grasso, a spokesman for the YMCA of Central Kentucky, said the Tuesday announcement by Beshear is “great news.”

The YMCA typically runs camps from the time school is out in the spring until just before the academic year begins in the fall.

“COVID-19 got in the way of all of that,” said Grasso.

Grasso said that his organization wants to open day camps this summer if possible.

“We need ... to work out the logistics on how, and if, it makes sense,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance Tuesday that said at lowest risk of contracting COVID-19 are small groups of campers who stay together all day, each day.

Campers should remain at least six feet apart and not share objects. Outdoor activities should be prioritized and campers should be from the local community, the guidance said.

Grasso said the YMCA is reviewing social distancing policies and how many kids can be in a particular area.

Camp officials are looking at many other questions, including how many kids can get on a bus.

Newton’s Attic Engineering Education Camp officials said in a letter to families Tuesday night that they would offer an in-person camp beginning June 15, and a virtual camp beginning June 8.

“Newton’s Attic will be following (Centers for Disease Control) reopening guidelines and Kentucky guidelines once they are published, “ the letter said.

“We will be restricting class sizes, use of common areas and implementing social distancing, all of which necessitate reduced capacity,” it said. “Break times will be staggered to reduce intermingling of students, and we will utilize outdoor areas at Newton’s Attic during breaks and lunch time. “

Forms and payments will be submitted electronically to streamline the check-in process and reduce the number of people in the lobby at any given time.

The Lexington School said on its website that it plans to open its Camp Curiosity In July.

“We hope to begin camp the week of July 6 and are currently working on those plans. Thank you for your patience as we navigate evolving recommendations,” a statement said.

Officials at ‘I Am Third’ Sports Camps plan to open about July 6 and are considering safety guidelines and standards for each camp, including federal Centers for Disease Control protocol. Jeremy Hobbs, the camp director, said he is projecting that the program will serve half of the young athletes that it normally does. One to two instructors will likely work with six to eight kids, he said.

Summer camps involving youth sports will have to meet additional requirements because of the contact involved, Beshear said Tuesday.

Lexington’s Living Arts and Science Center is not planning on having any in-person summer camps in 2020. “That concept is suspended,” Laurie Preston, director of development, said Wednesday.

The Center is conducting virtual summer camps with Lexington Traditional Magnet Middle School students and is looking into options for virtual summer camps for other students in addition to offering online videos, she said.

Lexington Children’s Theatre will offer a variety of virtual camps in June and hasn’t made a firm decision on in-person classes after that, said Jeremy Kisling, who handles education for the theatre.

“We all have to be responsible and reactive to what the trends are,” he said, “Ideally, we would love to have in-person classes in July at the theatre. We have to make sure we can make the CDC guidelines, the Governor’s guidelines.”

He said if they go in-person, they will have much smaller numbers.

Fayette County Public Schools is providing a virtual learning opportunity for students during the summer break called Summer Bridge.

Students can participate in independent learning provided by Fayette teachers and computer-based programs. The games and incentives for students and families will support student growth in math and literacy over the summer break in two sessions.

Spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall said that the only summer classes typically taught in-person by the district — physical education and health— would be taught virtually this summer.

The Explorium, Lexington’s children’s museum, is still deciding whether to have in-person summer camps, but will definitely have virtual summer camps, providing materials for children, said executive director Lee Ellen Martin.

Susan Straub, a spokesperson for Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, said Wednesday that “as of now we will not have Therapeutic Recreation Day Camps or Camp Kearney in June. “

“We follow the Governor’s guidance. We are announcing closures on a month-by-month basis,” said Straub.

Transylvania University spokeswoman Megan Moloney said the school has canceled its June youth sport camps and is still in the process of making decisions about camps that could be held in July. University of Kentucky summer camps for K-12 students are canceled through July 31, said spokesman Jay Blanton. In-person events on that campus are currently either postponed or canceled.

The property where the Blue Grass Council, Boy Scouts of America, typically holds a camp, is currently closed and a virtual summer camp is being held. Changes to the situation will be posted on the organization’s website, said staff member Susan Stone.

In addition to general attention on COVID-19 cases, there has been heightened, recent concern, about the health of children in Kentucky.

Beshear has released information about Pediatric Multisymptom Inflammatory Syndrome causing serious health problems for some young people. At least four young Kentuckians have been treated for PMIS, an inflammation disorder that appears to follow a coronavirus infection, Beshear’s office said in a news release Tuesday.

This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 10:22 AM.