Covid-19 Updates

Last Updated: May 29, 2021

Greetings from Lookout Mountain! These are newly updated as of May 29. Read over these carefully and entirely. We will continue to add updates and details to our plan in the coming months.

We are excited to welcome your campers back to Alpine this summer! We feel we are doing everything we can to keep campers and staff safe while still having a great time at camp. As always, please contact us with any questions you may have.

Before Camp

  • Your camper will be required to submit a negative molecular PCR Covid-19 test for entrance to camp. A rapid test will not be accepted. We recommend Vault Health’s PCR test (though you may choose any physician’s office or company’s PCR test). It is a saliva test, costs $119, and is covered by most insurance companies. Click here and follow the instructions to order your test. You will need to order the test at least 14 days prior to your Opening Day.
  • The only exception to submitting a negative test will be if your camper contracts Covid in the 90 day window leading up to his Opening Day. In this case, we will accept a paper copy of his positive Covid test dated within 90 days of his Opening Day date.
  • We are asking your camper to quarantine for 7 days prior to his arrival at camp. He would take the test on Day 3 or 4 and then continue to quarantine until Opening Day.
  • What do we mean by quarantine? Campers should not be with friends or in public settings such as restaurants, sporting events, etc. The only exception will be if school is still taking place within the 7 day window. We are also asking family members to avoid these settings unless absolutely necessary, such as work and grocery shopping. Even then please use extra care and wear a mask and physical distance. Also, note that the Junior Camp quarantine period takes place over a holiday weekend so you will need to make arrangements to ensure you can receive the results of the Covid test in time to travel to Alpine.
  • To be admitted to camp, the camper must present his negative PCR test upon arrival.
  • We also ask you to take your child’s temperature every day during the 7 day quarantine. And ask your child if he is experiencing any other symptoms of Covid-19.

Travel

  • We will be allowing boys to fly to camp via the Birmingham airport. Transport will be available for these boys, with Alpine chaperones, per usual. Masks will be required at all times. Our travel will once again be coordinated by travel agents and camp parents, Sam and Janie Giffin .
  • We will not have an option for non-flying campers to ride the bus from the Birmingham airport to camp. Only boys who need to fly in will be transported. We will also not be chartering buses to Jackson, MS at the end of 2nd Term.

Campers Who Should Not Come?

  • Campers from immune-compromised groups.
  • Those who choose not to meet the quarantine guidelines noted above.
  • Families who cannot make arrangements to pick up their camper within 12 hours of receiving a call from camp. It can be someone besides a parent who has permission to pick up.
  • Families who are not comfortable with an increased risk of contracting Covid-19.
  • Any camper who can’t arrive on Opening Day or needs to leave and return for an outside event during the term.
  • A camper (or someone in his immediate family) who is in quarantine on Opening Day for being Covid positive or a close contact. In order to provide a full refund, a copy of the positive test results from the physician or health department will be required.

Testing

  • We hope to have the ability to perform a rapid test several days into each term. We will add more details as we know them. We also hope to have the ability to test during the term for suspected cases.

Opening Day

  • Drop off between 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT will be staggered. Closer to Opening Day you will receive an email with your arrival time window.
  • We want to give you a warm welcome on Opening Day and provide a smooth transition into camp for your son. We will utilize a drive through drop off system this year. In our attempt to create a Covid free bubble, we are asking all parents and guests to stay in their cars at all times.
  • We recommend a rest stop before arrival. Portable toilets will be available at camp along your check in route.
  • First Stop – Our Head staff will greet you and give your son’s cabin assignment to you! The Directors will be available as well.
  • Second Stop – A staff member will greet you. They will take the paper copy of your negative PCR test. Please make sure it is a printed copy. They will also do a temperature check of your son. Please turn in any forms that are due at this time. At this stop, you can turn in any pre-written letters for your camper or birthday package if your son has a birthday while at camp (remember, no packages except for a birthday).
  • Third Stop – You’ll proceed to designated pull off areas for each cabin area. Staff will be on hand to direct you. Your son’s counselor will come to the vehicle to meet you and your son. Staff will be there to take all your camper’s belongings to the cabin. We ask that parents stay in the car and say your goodbyes. The counselor will take your son to his cabin to meet up with his cabin mates. Parents will need to stay in their cars the entire time. While we know this is difficult, we firmly believe (based on camps that operated in 2020) that this is the best chance we have at creating a safe, Covid-free environment. Camps that operated last summer reported that this process actually led to a much smoother transition into camp, with less homesickness, for both the new and veteran campers. We recommend talking with your camper about this process beforehand so he can be prepared. Be positive and express your confidence in him.
  • Fourth Stop – As you exit camp, our medical staff will have a designated pull off to collect medications. Please have the Medication Record Form completed prior to arrival. All medication must be in its originally marked packaging. Have all medication bottles in a ziploc bag, out and ready to pass to a nurse. Please feel free to make our medical staff aware of any other medical concerns at this time.

Visitors

  • To facilitate our bubble atmosphere at camp and limit the spread of disease, no visitors will be allowed during the Summer of 2021.

Face Coverings

  • Based on the most current CDC guidance, we do not anticipate wearing masks outside at camp. There may be a few times, such as church on Sundays, where we are crowded into small spaces and singing, where masks are required.
  • Every camper must have at least 10 clearly labeled gaiters/masks at camp (Alpine gaiters are available for purchase). Gaiters are easier for boys to wear while being active, but a face mask will also suffice.

Response to a Suspected or Confirmed Case of Covid-10 and Close Exposures

  • A camper or staff member who is suspected of having COVID-19 will be isolated and evaluated by our physicians. A rapid antigen test will first be utilized. If the camper is symptomatic and tests positive, a positive diagnosis will be assumed. If the camper is asymptomatic and tests positive on the rapid test, a confirmatory nasal swab PCR test will be obtained. If the confirmatory PCR test is negative, the rapid antigen test is assumed to be a false positive and the camper will be allowed to return to camp.
  • If a diagnosis of COVID-19 is determined for a camper, we will call the parents and ask them (or someone they arrange) to pick up the camper within 12 hours
  • All members of the camper’s pod (including campers and counselors) will be tested by nasal swab rapid antigen test on Days 1, 3, and 5 following identification of the test-positive camper (Day 1 is the day that the source camper tested positive).

Program

  • Our mission remains the same: that boys will “increase in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man”. Our staff will be prepared for fun and safe activities!
  • Cabins will operate much the same as they always have. Cabins will be our campers’ primary family with unstructured interaction and relaxed social distancing. During meal times, cabin inspection, rest period, shower times and bedtime, campers and staff will interact with their cabin family only, without face coverings.
  • Our activity program will operate in pods based on age group. Because we cannot mix age groups in activities, some age groups will not have access to some activities that they normally would be able to take.
  • Age groups will interact with each other throughout the day, attending activities together, etc. There will be more thoughtful distancing in these groups.
  • If age groups mix we will adopt mitigation methods such as social distancing or face coverings.
  • Outside programs and activities will be without face coverings.

Staff

  • Our counselors and staff make the experience for campers and this year will be no different!
  • It is our hope to have staff vaccinated as essential child care workers prior to their arrival at camp. The American Camp Association is hard at work lobbying for this.
  • Whether they are vaccinated or not, they will be required to provide a negative Covid test for arrival to camp.
  • Essential camp staff that live off site (such as maintenance, kitchen, office, and housekeeping) will maintain physical distance from campers and counselors and will wear face coverings when in proximity.

Meal Times

  • Meals will be eaten with cabin groups and physically distant from other cabins.
  • All Kitchen staff and Work Crew will wear face coverings while serving.
  • We will not have self-service bars - the normal breakfast and lunch bar items will be on the table when possible.

Personal Hygiene and Symptom Monitoring

  • We will, like always, stress behaviors and precautions to abide by to avoid communicable disease. This year we’ll remind campers and staff even more often. We’ll talk about how and when to effectively wash hands, how to practice physical distancing in our various camp settings, our face covering policy, coughing etiquette, and reporting of any symptoms.
  • Counselors will be instructed to monitor daily for any symptoms of illness.

Bathhouses

  • Campers using communal bathrooms (2 of our 3 cabin areas utilize community bathrooms) will shower by cabin groups like always.
  • Morning and evening bathroom routines will also be segmented by cabin groups. For boys using the restrooms at other times of the day, they will be instructed to wear face coverings while inside in case of contact with campers from other cabins.

Out of Camp Trips

  • It is our hope to carry on with trips that venture into remote, wilderness areas during our 1st and 2nd Terms. We plan to allow the 2nd year Chief backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail to go. We will make updates on other out of camp trips as camp draws near.

Warm regards,

Glenn and Carter Breazeale
Directors

Previous Updates