Summer 2022 – COVID-19 Plans and Updates

Ideally, campers will not have to wear masks while at camp for the following reasons:

– Outdoor transmission of COVID is very rare, and a majority of time at camp is spent outdoors

– Campers and counselors will spend most of their indoor time in their own cabin. The state of New Hampshire considers “cabin cohorts” as “family units,” and does not require masks to be worn when it is just the cabin cohort together. 

– During the first few days, campers will only have close indoor contact with their cabin cohort, with Kingswood continuing to implement a de-densified dining area at the beginning of each session.

– All camp residents (campers, counselors, and other staff and family) must participate in our testing program

However, campers should still bring either a package of disposable masks or a few reusable masks to camp. Think of masks in the same way you think of raincoats – you hope you don’t need them, but if the conditions require it, it’ll be good to be prepared. Masks may be needed if your son tests positive for Covid or if your son is a close contact and is in mixed indoor settings. We will also likely be asking campers and counselors to wear masks while traveling in vans.

Upon the recommendation of pediatric doctors who work closely with the camping industry and our medical advisory committee, on February 11th, 2022 we announced our decision to require all campers and staff to achieve full vaccination status (as defined by the CDC) before their arrival at camp. Currently, this means a person has received their primary series of COVID-19 vaccines. 

We also strongly recommend all eligible campers to get their booster shots so that they can be “up-to-date” on their COVID vaccinations.

If there is a medical reason why your son cannot be vaccinated, please feel free to touch base and we will discuss next steps of communication between his pediatrician and our health care team.

No, Kingswood will not be requiring a daily health screening in the days preceding camp. We believe our best chance to identify and prevent COVID from entering our camp community is through our vaccine policy and testing requirements. 

Campers who have tested positive for Covid within 90 days of camp: 

• will not be required to take the Lucira test or (a PCR test if families can not acquire a Lucira test) as part of the pre-camp testing.   
• will be required to take a rapid antigen test before traveling to camp and upload the negative result to their CampInTouch account.

The camp will need documentation of your son’s Covid infection. 

• Please log into your Campanion or CampInTouch account and complete the “Attestation of Positive COVID Result within 90 days” Form.
• Additionally, if your son tested positive on a PCR test or you have other documentation of his positive result, please send us the PDF with the positive result or other pertinent documentation.

Your communication with us in this event is critical. Please let us know right away so that we can discuss the particulars to ensure a safe and smooth entry to camp, based on individual circumstances. 

In the event that someone in a camper’s household tests positive for Covid-19 during the camp season, we ask for you to inform us right away. We will monitor your son’s health at camp, test as needed, and remain in frequent communication with you at home.

Yes, all campers will need to take a Covid test before coming to camp. 

If you live in the United States or Canada, you must purchase a Lucira Check It Test and administer the test at home on the day your son is traveling to camp (e.g. arrival day).

The Lucira Check It Test is a rapid at-home test which amplifies the virus’s genetic material just like PCR tests and provides a comparable level of accuracy to high sensitivity PCR tests. The directions are clear, the process is straightforward, and the results are available in about 30 minutes. The directions also include details about how to upload your results to “LUCI”, which will provide you with a PDF you can upload through Campanion or your CampInTouch account. 

Lucira Check It Tests can be purchased online. If you purchase directly from Lucira’s website, the cost is $75; if you purchase through Vault Health, the current cost (5/23/22) is $66. And according to Lucira’s website, the cost should be fully or partially covered by insurance. 

We believe doing these tests at home is going to provide a better experience for our families. Having already completed the test before departure will make the travel to camp less stressful – perhaps there will be some first day jitters, but no worries about having to pass a test to be granted entry. 

If your son tests positive on the Lucira test and you suspect it is a false positive (rare but possible), have your son take a lab-based PCR. If the result is negative, he can come to Kingswood right away. 

Since Lucira does not ship internationally, international campers should do the testing required for travel and will take a Lucira upon arrival at camp.

Campers who have tested positive for Covid within 90 days of camp: 

• WILL NOT be required to take the Lucira test as part of the pre-camp testing.   
• Will be required to take a rapid antigen test before traveling to camp and upload the negative result to their CampInTouch account.

If the camp community remains healthy and COVID-free, we do not intend to employ surveillance testing. 

If an individual is displaying COVID symptoms, our nurses will administer an Abbott BinaxNow rapid antigen test. If we have a positive case, we will test all close contacts  both on the day of the positive test and five days later. If we have multiple positive cases within our community, we may test more broadly, depending on the circumstances. 

Additionally, if campers are not “up-to-date” on their vaccines and are a close contact, we will institute a “test-to-stay” plan, whereby campers would need to take an antigen test each morning (for five days) and receive a negative result to continue normal camp activities. 

For boys traveling internationally at the end of camp, we will arrange for necessary testing prior to departure. If other families would like their son tested prior to departure, please let us know so we can plan accordingly. 

Anyone who is feeling unwell will be sent to the infirmary and further evaluated by the camp nurses.

If there is no logical explanation for the reported symptom(s) and there is reason to believe that the symptom(s) could be an indication of COVID (ex. within the first few days of arrival) the parents of the symptomatic camper will be contacted and the camper will be tested for COVID using either a rapid antigen test or a Lucira “Check it” test.

The success of this summer begins with you, at home. More than ever, the partnership between parents, campers, and staff in the weeks leading up to camp is absolutely critical. We need everyone to arrive healthy!

Campers and members of their households should engage in low-risk behaviors the week before traveling to camp. A rule of thumb is that low-risk behaviors are those that can be done outdoors, in small numbers, and/or with physical distancing.

We understand that circumstances might require your son to be indoors with large groups in the week before camp – some campers are still in school; others need to take public transportation to camp. In school, we strongly recommend wearing high-quality masks, especially if case counts are high in your region. Campers who are flying to camp must wear a high-quality mask while traveling to camp. 

No, but the Kingswood community will have limited interactions beyond the Kingswood community. 

Kingswood has two commuting program instructors. These two excellent local teachers – a physical education instructor and a retired art teacher – are the only two non-residential members of our staff that work in close proximity to campers, and both of these individuals will only teach and interact outdoors. 

Additionally, some members of our kitchen and maintenance teams also live locally. They do not generally have close indoor contact with campers. 

Residential counselors and staff will have the opportunity to leave campus on their days and nights off. However, this time off will be organized and supervised by a designated camp administrator who will ensure best practices are maintained throughout the time off (e.g. masks worn in stores; avoiding crowded indoor settings), with the specifics of the policies dictated by local case counts.

Kingswood will be offering tours to camp agents, prospective families, and returning alumni. All guests will be required to wear masks while indoors.

Before the 2021 summer, camper cabins were modified to improve ventilation and to provide more distance or separation between individual’s head space.

Since nearly every bunk has a screen window, Kingswood cabins are already very well ventilated. But additional fans were added to cabins, as were additional screen windows on the gable ends of each cabin.

Kingswood will also continue to selectively leave beds empty to ensure that each camper’s head is at least six feet apart from any other person’s head while sleeping. 

To de-densify the dining hall, Kingswood will have three separate dining areas to start the summer – the dining hall and dining hall porch, the main lodge and main lodge porch, and “the tent” – a 40’ x 20’ tent located in front of the dining hall. For the first week of camp, each cabin will have its own assigned table(s). Each set of cabin tables will be physically distanced from other cabins’ tables, and each cabin will all be called to the salad bar one at a time.

Additionally, weather permitting, we will also serve many meals outside with free seating.

If the camp community is COVID-free, we will close the tent and return to our normal dining procedures with mixed age tables after the first week of each session.

The daily camp schedule will be totally normal. Campers will have free choice of their morning clinics, their afternoon activities, and their evening events. Like last year, for the first few days, all-camp announcements will be made outside, either at the Counsel Fire or from the Pines Field Stage. 

Happily, intercamp tournaments and games are back on the schedule. We are excited to resume our friendly competitions with our nearby camps. All intercamp sports competitions are done outside and with camps who have similar vaccination and testing policies as us.

Unfortunately, it will be one more year until we return to Whale’s Tale or have dances with any girls’ camps.

Yes, we believe we can safely conduct hiking and fishing trips. Most of the trails and sites we use are lightly trafficked, and Kingswood individuals will physically distance themselves from non-Kingswood individuals.

Yes, Kingswood will be sending overnight trips. If any overnight trips are offered during Phase 1, only one-person tents will be used. Many of our overnight trips use our own campsites, where there is no chance of interaction with non-Kingswood individuals. However some trips will overnight at established sites within the White Mountain National Forest – in these instances, we will only use the tent platforms, which are separated from other groups, not the shelters or huts.

If you are dropping your son off at camp, please sign up for a drop-off time. A staggered arrival will make it easier to park at camp, move your son into his cabin, and check in with the nurse. Parents will be allowed in the cabins, but must wear a mask. And please do not travel to camp if you do not feel well!

First Session (June 26th) Arrival Sign Up

Second Session (July 24th) Arrival Sign Up 

If your travel plans require you arriving before 9am or after 4pm, please contact us. We will definitely be able to accommodate you. Furthermore, if there is a specific time you MUST arrive and all those time slots are already full, please let us know – we can exceed the number of slots provided in each time period, but prefer a steady flow of arrivals over a mass arrival!

For this summer, Kingswood is offering a modified Parents Visiting Day, which would occur on the final Friday of the first session (July 22nd) and second session (August 12th) from 2pm – 6pm. This will be an opportunity for families to both see their sons in their element at camp and to enjoy camp themselves; to swim, take out a boat, enjoy our facilities (tennis, golf, archery, etc), or participate in a parent-camper team sport (soccer, softball, etc.). We love having our families on campus –  meeting our staff, our campers, and other families; experiencing the welcoming Kingswood community firsthand; and seeing how comfortable and at home their sons have become. 

Specifics surrounding Parents Day are still being developed and will take into account the trajectory of the pandemic. At the moment we do not intend to provide parents with lunch or dinner, nor will we be allowing campers off-campus with their parents. Our hope is to keep activities out of doors and avoid large indoor gatherings; thus, Parents Day would be weather-dependent. 

We recognize that while many families really enjoy Parents Day, many families can not attend. All of the camp activities are open to every camper, regardless of whether their parents are in attendance. The final dinner and closing ceremonies are just for the campers, so we ask that all parents leave by 6pm on Friday.

Yes, Kingswood will be offering shuttle service from New York City to Kingswood on Sunday, June 26th and Sunday, July 24th (if there is enough interest). Prior to boarding the shuttle, all campers must have submitted their negative Lucira test result. Additionally, since campers from various cabins will be riding the bus, all passengers must wear a mask for the duration of the trip. Additional details can be found in your CampInTouch account. 

We will also be offering shuttle service from Kingswood to New York City on Saturday, July 23rd and Saturday, August 13th. If you are interested in this option, more information can be found in your CampInTouch account.

Yes, air travel is an acceptable form of transportation. Even though mask mandates in airports and airplanes have ended, campers flying to camp must wear masks while in the airport and airplane. If you must remove your mask to eat or drink, please be mindful of your surroundings, trying to distance yourself from others or choosing a time on the flight when most passengers are in their seats.

If you are flying to camp and live domestically, please read and follow the CDC travel guidance.

If you are traveling from outside the United States, please read and follow the CDC’s international travel guidance and make sure you follow the required testing policies. Since camp is considered your son’s “family home”, his self-quarantine can be done at camp.

Prior to the start of camp, all families must sign or complete the following documents:

• Testing Consent Form: This form gives the camp permission to administer COVID tests on your son as circumstances merit (e.g. symptomatic, close contact, “test-to-stay”)
• Acknowledgement of Policies and Risks Notice: By signing this document, families agree that they and their son(s) will: 1) abide by Kingswood’s COVID regulations and policies, 2) recognize that these policies are subject to abrupt change at any time, and 3) accept all of the risks of COVID arising out of your child attending Kingswood in summer 2022.
• A Family Contingency Plan: In the event that your son tests positive for COVID while at camp, we might not be able to provide an isolation space for him (depending on the number of positive cases within camp). Therefore, we ask that you (or someone you have empowered) be available to pick up your son from camp within 24 hours. In your CampInTouch account there is a web-based document to sign acknowledging that you understand that if you are asked, you must make every effort to have your son picked up from camp within that time frame, either by you or someone you have empowered to do so. Please remember that if your son has tested positive for COVID, he may not, under any circumstances, use public transportation to return home.

And some families will need to complete this additional form:

• Attestation of a Positive COVID Result Within 90 Days Form: If your son has tested positive for COVID within the last 90 days, please fill out this form. This form is required to exempt your child from the arrival day Lucira test (replaced with an antigen test).

Yes, Kingswood will be offering shuttle service from New York City to Kingswood on Sunday, June 26th and Sunday, July 24th (if there is enough interest). Prior to boarding the shuttle, all campers must have submitted their negative Lucira test result. Additionally, since campers from various cabins will be riding the bus, all passengers must wear a mask for the duration of the trip. Additional details can be found in your CampInTouch account. 

We will also be offering shuttle service from Kingswood to New York City on Saturday, July 23rd and Saturday, August 13th. If you are interested in this option, more information can be found in your CampInTouch account.

No, we do not anticipate charging any extra fees due to COVID. The only possible exception would be related to COVID testing. There will be no charge for any rapid antigen test we administer at camp – the state of New Hampshire has provided us with a large sum of Abbott BinaxNOW tests. However, if there is a circumstance where our health care team believes a PCR test or a Lucira test is appropriate, we may bill families the cost of testing.

Your son and his cabin mates will be tested immediately. Per current CDC guidelines, if your son is “up-to-date” on his vaccines and tests negative, he will be able to continue normal activities unless he becomes symptomatic of COVID-19, in which case he will be tested again. As an added safety measure, the cabin group will eat at one of the tables on the porch of the dining hall and will wear masks when indoors in mixed groups (ex. Drum clinic, woodworking, in a van).

If your son is “fully vaccinated” but not “up-to-date” on his vaccines, the policies would be the same as above, but your son would be required to take a rapid antigen test each morning as part of our “test-to-stay” plan. 

Additionally, all cabin mates would be tested again five days after the last exposure.

In consultation with medical experts, and following the best practices described by the CDC and the ACA, Kingswood is developing a comprehensive plan to respond to a confirmed or suspected COVID-19 case within our community. These plans address the health and wellbeing of the individual, his or her close contacts, and the community at large. These plans outline how the camp will provide services and on-going care of the sick and his or her close contacts, how the camp will mitigate the risk of infectious spread within the community, and how the camp will communicate to all stakeholders (the infected individual, his or her close contacts, the rest of the campers, counselors and staff; parents of the infected individual, parents of close contacts, and parents of other campers).

Your son may rejoin the camp community and return to normal camp activities when all of the following criteria are met:

• The minimum recommended isolation period is over (five days)
• He is asymptomatic (or his symptoms are improving)
• He has been fever free (without fever reducing medicine) for 24 hours
• He has tested negative on two consecutive antigen tests (24 hours apart)
• He agrees to wear a mask when indoors and to sleep in a separate, supervised location until 10 days after his positive result

While there are certain universal elements – such as our commitment to clear and timely communication, continual care and supervision of infected campers, and mitigation efforts to limit community spread – many decisions will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Specifically, whether a child will be able to isolate at camp or be asked to isolate at home will be based on the following variables: family/camper preference, geographic location of family, severity of sickness, volume of cases within camp, and availability of beds / housing for positive cases. 

These decisions will be made in collaboration with our health professionals and in partnership with our families. We will never compromise the health of any individual within our camp community, nor will we engage in policies which jeopardize the health and wellbeing of our camp community. But if there are circumstances in which we can provide care, supervision, and perhaps even some elements of the camp experience to COVID positive campers, and parents and the camper want to remain at camp, we will work to provide that opportunity.  

• If your son tests positive for COVID on the pre-camp or arrival day test:
  • No refund will be given
  • Your son may join the camp community after the recommended time and with your son’s doctor’s consent
• If your son tests positive for COVID while at camp:
  • If the recommendation from our medical team is for your son to isolate at camp and then rejoin the camp community after the recommended time, no refund will be given
  • If the recommendation from our medical team is for your son to return home, your son may isolate at home and then rejoin the camp community after the recommended time and with your son’s doctor’s consent, or you can elect to receive a 50% refund if the determination is made in the first half of your son’s stay
• If camp does not open in 2022, families will be entitled to a full refund or may choose to rollover any funds already paid to the following summer. Refunds will be made within a year of the decision to close.
• If Kingswood must close during a session:
  • If the closure occurs in the first half of your son’s session, Kingswood will offer to refund 50% of tuition.
  • If the closure happens in the second half of your son’s session, there will be no refund.

Kingswood is committed to keeping parents informed and being as transparent about the health of our community as possible. However, private information will be protected, as required by HIPAA policies. 

Kingswood will contact parents by phone if:

• Your son is displaying symptoms of COVID-19 and our health care team believes a COVID test is needed.
• Your son has tested positive for COVID-19
  • Kingswood will continue to be in regular direct communication with parents until the camper can be picked up from camp or until his isolation period is complete
• Your son is a close contact of someone who tests positive for  COVID-19

Kingswood will contact parents by email or text if / when:

• If your son receives a negative result on a COVID test
• Anyone in the camp community tests positive for COVID-19

Kingswood families must contact the camp if:

• Your son or any of his close contacts test positive for COVID in the ten days prior to his arrival at camp.
• Any close contacts of your son (parents, siblings, etc.) test positive for COVID within the first week of camp