We wanted to start by thanking all our HOC families and campers who registered with us for the 2021 season. We are pretty close to reaching our 50% registration capacity for many of the weeks this summer, which we feel will give us the best platform to meet possible Covid-19 restrictions and guidelines based on HOC's camp structure.
Covid-19 Update
News of Covid-19 continues to change daily from case count and variant updates to health unit restrictions to vaccine updates. Although we know that the trajectory of Covid-19 will ultimately determine the successful re-opening of camp, we continue to remain hopeful and patient as we plan for camp in the months ahead, leading into summer.
Entrust that we are working hard to plan for an amazing summer camp experience, as always, while managing the risks associated with Covid-19. Part of that important planning has been regular meetings and updates with the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) Covid-19 task force.
These conversations, meetings, and updates are ultimately leading us to the development of HOC's 2021 Covid-19 Re-Opening Plan. When will this plan be ready? It is our hope that we receive all the necessary information from the OCA Covid-19 task force, the Ontario government, and public health within the next month.
Therefore, we anticipate sharing a more detailed plan by the end of April. At this time, here are some of the key topics of the plan that you can anticipate receiving information about.
- Cohorting - Grouping our campers into specific cohorts will be the key to our re-opening plan. By establishing cohorts, we will be able to reduce risk in the community and support contact tracing.
- Health Screening Protocols - In addition to our normal pre-camp and arrival screening procedures, we will be looking to add specific Covid-19 screening protocols and possible testing procedures.
- Masking and Distancing - Even though we have the benefit of the great outdoors for most of our programming, we are anticipating that masking and distancing procedures will be required under certain circumstances and as directed by public health protocols.
Ontario Camps Association (OCA) #planforcamp
We'd like to invite you to also stay tuned to the Ontario Camps Association (OCA) website and social media @ocacamps. They have already begun and will continue to share news, stories and updates on their #planforcamp campaign, including the latest news coverage.- CBC Radio, Fresh Air - Ontario overnight summer camps hope to break COVID cabin fever (March 2021)
- AM 800, Morning Drive - Summer Camps (March 2021)
- CBC - Summer camps welcome surge in reservations with industry optimistic about the season (March 2021)
HOC 2021 Updates To Date:
Staffing
We have successfully completed much of our hiring process and have secured candidates for many of our 2021 camp positions. If you know of someone that is still interested in applying, have them check out all our staffing details at 2021 Staff Applications. We are still accepting applications for the following positions.
· Program Support Instructor (Lifeguard)
· Fitness Instructor
· Water Ski Instructor
· Facility Support Staff
Camp Purchasing
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We continue to purchase PPE each month to ensure we have ample supply for our entire summer stock requirement.
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We have secured some commercial marquee-style tents that will be used as either outdoor dining areas or additional covered recreational spaces. We will have the flexibility to use the tents to best suit our safe re-opening plan requirements.