Breaking camp

Virus looks to disrupt summer traditions

Asummer without summer camps? It’s like Arkansas without Razorback games, March without the NCAA basketball tournament and April without Major League Baseball’s opening day.

Yes, unfortunately, it’s just like those.

As Northwest Arkansas residents have spent this spring figuring out what might be permissible in response to covid-19, questions have lingered about what our summers might look like. Traditionally, as soon as school lets out, a lot of families begin fueling up the cars, dusting off their RVs or boarding airplanes for those long-anticipated vacations.

For many families, summers also mean sending kids off to camps, whether it’s Scouts packing up for a week at Camp Orr along the Buffalo River or campers ready to meet new friends at Camp War Eagle or youngsters enjoying fellowship with believers at New Life Ranch just across the border.

There are hundreds of them, like the band, dance, cheerleading and academic camps often taking place on college campuses. In towns across the region, there are daytime camps that draw youngsters looking to sharpen their skills in sports, in theater or the arts.

Kids by the thousands use their summers for adventure, skills development and meeting new friends.

But covid-19 looks like it may play the role of spoiler again.

Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas’ secretary of health, spoke Monday in the daily covid-19 briefing in Little Rock of outbreaks in the dozens in a couple of state and federal prisons in Arkansas. He then related that to summer camps.

“Around the dinner table last night my college-age son mentioned he was planning on going back and being a camp counselor this summer as he’s done for the last few years, and I suggested to him that they may not be having summer camp,” Smith said. “And that was a little bit of a surprise to him, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to the rest of us.

“Although there’s a big difference between summer camp and a maximum security unit, to the covid-19 virus, there’s not that much of a difference. You’re bringing together people from all over the country, putting them in a highly congregate setting for a week or so, then you send them back (home).

“Even if we’re on the downside of cases at that point, that’s a high-risk setting for a resurgence.”

Yet again, a doctor delivers news we’d rather not hear, even as we might have suspected it all along. His words make perfect sense, but they’re a hard prescription to swallow.

Those with summer camp plans should still check with their camp organizations. Chances are plans are still on hold. Even Smith left room for hope part of the summer might be salvaged, but based on what he knows now, he said he’s skeptical.

Summer camps create great moments in people’s lives. Lasting friendships are often formed. Kids, venturing away from parents in a controlled setting, build their maturity. And young adults serving as staff develop leadership skills that will serve them for their lifetimes.

Covid-19 has already robbed young folks of a proper finish to their school year among friends. It’s unfortunate its disruptions will continue into summer. Above all, keeping kids safe is a necessity and we appreciate the state’s guidance.

Just because it’s easy to understand, though, doesn’t mean it’s easy to take.