The City of Hamilton is holding out hope that it will be able to offer some form of modified summer day camp for children in the community during the coronavirus pandemic.
Paul Johnson, director of the city’s emergency operations centre, says the big modifications will involve the number of young people they will be able to accommodate and where they can run programs while still following physical-distancing guidelines.
Johnson says the programming will happen in July and August and he’s hoping to present more details to city council next Wednesday as part of a wider-reaching Hamilton Reopens plan that will be guided by provincial orders.
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Johnson says other challenges will be ensuring access “equitably” with the limited number of children they’ll be able to accept at summer camps and what to do when inclement weather doesn’t allow for outdoor activities.
Johnson acknowledges that there “will not be enough spots for all the people who want to have summer activities for their children, given all the other things that are not happening.”
Hamilton’s summer day camp program is normally operated out of recreation centres throughout the city.
The City of Burlington has announced the cancellation of all city-run summer programs for this year due to COVID-19, including summer camps, recreation programs, swimming and skating drop-ins.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward confirmed that reality on Tuesday, saying “we simply can’t manage the numbers and keep people safe and healthy.”
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