Dear Kohut Family,
We’re so excited it’s the beginning of June and Kamp is around the corner!! We hope this email finds you well, looking forward to the summer. By now, your mailboxes should have been filled with some fun Kohut letters, sharing details and reminders about various things from Kamp “Big/Little Sister/Brother” assignments to the Daily Schedule. Please let us know if your letter hasn’t arrived yet. After many months of planning and preparing, we can’t wait!
Now, to get everyone here healthy and ready to go:
We are emailing today to share our COVID protocols for 2022. Not nearly as fun as the May mailing in your mailboxes, but very important. Thank you for reading carefully. News of surging COVID cases makes it clear that although we are all tired of living with COVID restrictions, COVID is still making people sick, and we need to protect our community as much as possible. We are very hopeful that the combination of vaccinations, testing, hygiene, and distancing will permit us to run Kamp as we know and love it. We are also realizing we need to be flexible and adapt as the science and circumstances dictate, so thank you for your flexibility and patience as we work together to provide the best, safest, healthiest summer experience possible. Your child’s health and safety are always our utmost priority.
We are happy to share all staff, and we expect most kampers, to be fully vaccinated. Having such a large percentage of vaccinated people should help reduce the number and severity of COVID cases at Kamp this summer. We have learned that being vaccinated significantly helps, but does not absolutely protect our community, however, so we have planned accordingly with several “layers” of protection.
Before Arrival: “Low Risk” Behaviors and Test
1. Please engage in “Low Risk” behaviors 10 days before arrival. Stay outdoors, distanced, in smaller groups as much as possible. Please take out your favorite meal rather than dine in a restaurant. Wear a mask indoors in public, or when in a large group. It’s a relatively short amount of time to be extra cautious and can really help avoid a much longer series of problems.
2. We will require every kamper, regardless of vaccination status, to take a molecular (PCR) test within 72 hours prior to arrival at Kamp. If your kamper has had COVID within 90 days of their arrival date, we need to know the date of illness and a proctored rapid antigen test will be required instead.
If you are concerned your child may have unknowingly had COVID and might test positive on a PCR test, please have the PCR test done 10 days before their arrival date. That way, if they do test positive, you have time to isolate and quarantine 10 days before Kamp. Please let us know the date of the positive test and follow up with antigen test 72 hours prior to Arrival Day. (If the early test is negative, you will need to do a second PCR test 72 hours prior to arrival at Kamp.)
Should your kamper have a positive test result, please call us to discuss next steps and options moving forward. Our hope and intention is to get your child to Kamp as soon as is medically prudent.
Negative results must be submitted to us prior to joining a travel group or before arriving at Kamp, if being dropped off.
There are many molecular and proctored antigen test options available. We have had experience and success with Vault Health, Walgreens and walk-in clinics, though you may use any testing service your family prefers, so long as it is the appropriate test for your child’s COVID health history (see above) and we receive the results prior to arrival.
***Send the results to covidtests@kampkohut.com***
3. Regardless of test results, if your kamper has a fever, runny nose or sore throat on Arrival Day, please contact us and wait to send them to Kamp until they feel better!
4. Please wear a KN95/N95 or surgical mask on any public transportation to Kamp. It will be required on our chaperoned trips.
Arrival Day: Testing
1. As another layer of protection, we will be using Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card for rapid antigen testing upon arrival. This is a nasal swab which will be administered by our medical staff, with the results produced in just 15 minutes.
2. If you are dropping your kamper off, please stay in your car as our medical staff administer the test. If your kamper tests positive, your kamper will have to leave with you and we will discuss next steps for return to Kamp.
3. If your camper is traveling with a Kohut chaperoned group, they will stay with that travel group upon arrival until receiving a negative test result. Should your kamper test positive, we will call you to discuss next steps.
After Arrival: Continued Safe Practices
1. We will continue to monitor everyone’s health daily.
2. We will continue to adhere to good hygiene practices, particularly sanitizing hands and sneezing into elbows.
3. We will adapt the space to maximize good health — many activities outdoors, Dining Room tables spaced further apart, etc.
4. For the first few days, we will wear KN95 or surgical masks indoors unless only with bunkmates.
5. After the first few days, we will test everyone again and then masks will only be used if medically advised (positive test or exposure).
6. If there is a positive case at Kamp, we will carefully monitor close contacts and proceed appropriately as advised by our medical staff. Our course of action will be determined based on the particular circumstances – vaccination status, extent of exposure, symptoms, timing, etc. — of the case. If a kamper receives a positive test result while at Kamp, we will call you to discuss the options. Your child may be permitted to stay at Kamp (until Departure Day) or you may choose to collect them. During the requisite 5 day recovery period, they will sleep in a dedicated isolation space, followed by wearing a mask for 5 days. While the term “isolation” is used for medical reasons, your kamper will continue to be warmly cared for by dedicated (fully vaccinated) Nurses and staff, and they may have distanced/protected visits from friends. Should the kamper feel well enough, they may participate in specific activities determined to not risk further exposure.
The biggest factor in our ability to prevent COVID-19 from entering Kamp is your family’s compliance with low-risk behavior 10 days prior to arrival. Please know your choices have consequences not only for your own children’s on-time arrival, but for the Kohut community as a whole. We urge everyone to do what they can to limit exposure in the days leading up to camp.
“A COVID case at home means you change your plans; a COVID case at camp means everyone’s plans change.”
Thank you for your help and cooperation as we continue to navigate this unusual time, and for taking the time to read this lengthy but important email.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
We look forward to a healthy and fun summer!
Take care,
Lisa, Dan, and the Kohut Team