For the kids stuck at home watching Summer creep ever closer, the question of what’s going to come of the state’s Summer camps this year is a big one — and that goes for parents, too.
On Wednesday, medical ethicist Art Caplan said cautiously on Boston Public Radio, “I think you can open some of them up, I do."
Under the current guidelines set forth in Gov. Charlie Baker’s reopening plan, day camps could return as soon as June 8, with overnight camps set to follow in phase three, on June 29 at the earliest. Those dates, of course, are subject to change depending on how the pandemic progresses.
Read More: Summer Camps Are Closed Or On Hold, Leaving Families Scrambling
If camps do reopen, Caplan said heightened safety standards need to be top priority.
“[Camps] have to be a place where they’re gonna clean the equipment frequently,” he said. “Whether it’s the archery thing, or the jungle gym... whatever equipment that’s out there.”
He also said social distancing rules should remain the norm, while recognizing the challenges that could create for some camps.
“Last time I was in an overnight camp was about the 16th century,” he said, "but at that time it was bunk beds on top of bunk beds, everybody was crammed into a little cabin — I can’t say it was six foot spacing.”
Arthur Caplan is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, and the director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
