A recent article by ABC News addressed the issue of whether summer camps will open in a little more than one month.

“It's an existential threat to not be able to operate,” said Tom Rosenberg, president and CEO of the American Camp Association. “What we do know is kids need camp more than ever.” Rosenberg also said that camps have a long, successful history of managing health challenges.

Principals from Meow Meow Foundation vigorously disagreed.

“Contrary to Rosenberg’s menacing ultimatums, what we all should know and agree to is that kids need to be safe and healthy more than ever, not subjected to preventable health emergencies,” said MMF president Doug Forbes. “We have discovered that California’s summer day camps are not licensed, not regulated and therefore not receiving proper oversight from county health officials—let’s get that straightened out before we put our most precious cargo in harm’s way.”

Forbes said that camps are ill-prepared to face health crises. This is one of the reasons that, in February, he and MMF co-founder Elena Matyas introduced SB 955 (Portantino), The Roxie Rules Act. Their comprehensive bill would mandate emergency action plans, experienced on-site health supervisors and other safety measures including mandatory county inspections.

Matyas said, “We have spent the previous 10 months warning the governor, state and federal legislators, L.A. County officials and other gatekeepers about potential health and safety threats at unregulated camps. And now here we are.” She said that parents are on the brink of sending their children into camp environments that are not being guided by any health authorities. Therefore, these conditions, Matyas said, are ripe for ravaging kids and communities.

Forbes and Matyas said the CDC determined that children can be active carriers of the virus. It is virtually impossible to keep kids socially distanced at camps where close engagement is the norm, let alone the counselors and staffers who come from all walks of life and from communities far and wide.

According to new CDC guidelines (read pages 11 and 15 which pertain to reopening camps), camps can reopen during Phase II, which may be as soon as late May, right before camp season ordinarily commences. MMF has reached out to officials for further information.