ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - You will be able to jump in a pool or send your kid to summer camp in St. Louis County as soon as next month. Guidelines on how they'll be safe for kids and families during the pandemic are expected to come soon.
County Executive Sam Page says summer camps can start on June 1, but the date for the pools hasn't been exactly determined yet. He says he knows there are a lot of people anxiously waiting to know when and is hopeful for pools to be allowed to open in early June.
He credits American Camp Association and YMCA of the USA, who released a 82-page "field guide" for how summer and day camps can operate more safely during the coronavirus pandemic. The pool guidelines are being crafted through the St. Louis County Department of Health.
Page was also asked if he will follow the City of St. Louis and allow restaurants to expand outdoor seating to maintain social distancing. He says it's a "fine idea" and they'll be considering it.
He says one caveat to that is that the county can't make that move for every restaurant, so the decision may be better determined by each municipality.
Page is cautioning against going back to the "old normal" too fast.
"The road to where we once were is really a ways away, we're just not there yet, Page says.
St. Louis County and City are in its the third day of their Phase 1 reopening plan.