I began to teach summer camps and started to think about creative social distancing solutions. Kids are notorious for not social distancing, and I didn’t want them to give each other the virus to take it home to their parents or grand parents. Children are less likely to develop severe symptoms but I was also concerned for instructors and their families.
On May 22, 2020 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that all children’s summer activities including Summer Camps would be allowed to re-open after two months of lock down. He said this would be safe because children appear to be less susceptible to complications from the virus. “Our kids have been out of organized activities for a couple months now,” he said. “We need to have a pathway to get it back.” he said.
Broward and Miami Dade Counties voted against opening summer camps. They felt three things had to be in place, social distancing, face masks and sanitation. Pediatricians had mixed opinions about whether the move is too hasty. Dr. Bruce Peters, said, “Children could infect the people they live with, including grandparents who may be compromised because of age, and it could cause another peak, another outbreak of COVID. There are so many factors we can’t control.”
An 11 year old is the youngest person to die in Florida and some children have been infected and become critically ill. State data show that 1,049 children 14 or younger had contracted the COVID-19 virus as of Thursday May 21, 2020 and forty-two children were hospitalized. In one hospital case study, a child tested positive for COVID-19 and was infectious for 17 days while showing no symptoms such as a temperature or cough. Children might be infectious for longer than adults while remaining asymptomatic.
DeSantis said he would leave it up to parents to decide whether their children participate in summer camp activities. So, with no effective leadership from Federal, State or County officials it became the responsibility of camp instructors to come up with possible ways to get kids to social distance. My first students were troopers about keeping their face masks on. I spoke to them about hand washing and wiping down anything they picked up before I started any art instruction. Temperature checks before entering the classroom were re-assuring but not a guarantee since anyone can be asymptomatic and still spread the virus.
Social Distancing was the difficult conundrum. I searched online for creative solutions. Restaurants put manikins, cardboard cut outs of celebrities or ghosts in empty seats to fill out a room. I liked huge plush toys like Sea Otters, Teddy Bears, or Panda Bears filling the seats. One restaurant had large plastic cup shields that surrounded diners like the cone of silence in Get Smart. One restaurant had individual greenhouses placed outside for diners. Partitions and shower curtains actually do little to stop the virus since they are not sealed off. Pool Noodles strapped to hats seemed fun as well a very large Burger King crowns the size of hoop skirts. Cardboard dragon sculpts seemed a perfect solution for a video gaming summer camp.
I was told that an Orlando Bar downtown had Halloween skeletons seated in empty seats. Considering the meteoric rise in COVID-19 cases in Florida this past week that seems the most fitting solution. On Saturday June 27, 2020 the Florida Department of Health, 9,585 new cases of COVID-19 were reported and the sales of alcohol in Florida bars was suspended. To put that in perspective NYC’s highest COVID-19 case count was about12,000 in one day. Florida may very well be in the same dire situation NYC was in back in March in the coming weeks unless measures are taken to stop the spread.
The CDC offered tips on how to protect children during the pandemic. They recommend, “keeping children at least 6 feet from other people and each other. If children meet in groups, it can put everyone at risk. Children can pass this virus onto others who have an increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. The key to slowing the spread of COVID-19 is to limit contact as much as possible. While school is out, children should not have in-person play dates with children from other households. If children are playing outside their own homes, it is essential that they remain 6 feet from anyone who is not in their own household.”
The CDC has house hold studies in the works but they do not know the impact that children have on the transmission cycle of the virus. The CDC is moving forward to find ways to open schools safely. Dr. Fauci in testimony Tuesday June 30, 2020 said, “We need to do whatever we can to get the children back to school.” At a COVID-19 Task Force press briefing, Secretary Ben Carson said, “The CDC is advising schools on how to bring students back to school safely. You don’t have to have everyone in auditoriums, those congregate settings, you would avoid. There would be fewer kids in the classrooms and the desks would be socially distanced. Instead of having the kids eating in a cafeteria they should be eating at their desks.”