Cuomo: NY Summer Camps Must Require Masks For Unvaccinated Kids And Staff

While New York lifted many COVID-19 regulations on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that unvaccinated adults and kids between the ages of 2-11 years old will need to continue to wear masks in childcare and camp settings. New Jersey adopted similar rules last week.

The new policy applies to staffers and attendees at childcare programs, day camps and overnight camps. Under the rules, the unvaccinated should only remove their face coverings while eating, drinking, showering, swimming or sleeping. The guidance adds that “children/campers may also remove face coverings outdoors when they are unable to tolerate a face covering for the physical activity.”

Pods of children at overnight camps who all test negative for COVID-19 by the 3rd-5th day of camp can unmask together inside their group. If an entire camp reaches the 10-day benchmark without a positive COVID test and no symptoms, then the whole camp can abandon their masks, said Jess Michaels, director of communications with the American Camp Association, New York and New Jersey.

Camp and childcare programs in New York will also be required to “collect COVID-19 vaccination status and documentation for all staff and children, and implement mandatory daily health screening practices of their staff and visitors including daily temperature checks,” the state Department of Health said. Staff who are unvaccinated will need to continue to distance at least six feet away from each other.

Read more at Gothamist.

{Matzav.com}