Green light for day camps on June 22
Green light for day camps on June 22
Starting June 22, children will be able to attend day camps managed by municipalities, as planned by the Quebec government before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In order to enforce the hygiene and distancing measures surrounding the current context, the groups will be limited and the children will have to respect a physical distance of 2 meters.
It will therefore be a safe environment, according to the National Director of Public Health, Dr. Horacio Arruda, who stressed that deconfinement is taking place well outside the greater Montreal region:
Municipalities and organizations responsible for holding day camps will have to plan activities to promote the compliance with the rules of social distancing and to ensure the application of increased hygiene measures. The facilitator/children ratios will be reduced according to the requirements of the public health authorities. A guide was created for this purpose by the Association des camps du Québec.
The Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST) also made available a tool kit and a prevention guide for day camps.
Recruitment of facilitators: a problem?
The indications announced on Thursday pose a new challenge in recruiting facilitators, a problem raised by Premier François Legault, in his daily press briefing, Thursday.
The Premier also took advantage of his statement to appeal to adolescents and young adults to apply for jobs as day camp leaders. “The cities are looking for monitors. It’s a great experience to work all summer! I appeal to all young people! “, He said.
With regard to the organization of sleep away camps, since these require the application of additional measures which would prove difficult to comply with, the opening of this type of camp is postponed until the summer of 2021. In order to offering additional respite to families and caregivers, specialized camps for the disabled with accommodation will be able to operate during the summer period 2020.
