SF Summer Camps, Programs to Open in June, With Modifications

Both private and public summer camps and youth programs in San Francisco will be allowed to open on June 15, with modified safety measures, Mayor London Breed announced Friday.

The city-run camps and programs — for kids ages 6 through 17 — will prioritize the children of essential workers, as well as low-income youth and those in the most vulnerable populations.

Breed noted, however, that major health modifications would be required for the programs to open. For example, participants will need to stay in groups of no more than 12 kids, and summer camp sessions for older kids must last a minimum of three weeks to "minimize co-mingling of children."

"There are going to be a lot of changes," Breed said. "It won't be like the summer we're used to."

Between the city and other providers, about 200 programs will be available to children in the city this summer, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg said during Friday's briefing.

"Many of our kids in this city have been without their rec directors and their coaches and their mentors now, for going on 10 weeks," he said. "And we want to re-engage, and we want to make sure that these kids, above all else, have something to do this summer."

The announcement falls under a new order, issued this week by the city's Department of Public Health, outlining ways camps and programs can operate, and allowing for expanded child care services.

Summer camps will be allowed to operate through Aug. 17. Priority registration for city camps and programs begins on May 26.

— Michelle Wiley (@MichelleEWiley)