Over the past few months, more and more places are continuing to open up and lift their austere Covid-19 restrictions – just in time for the summer weather. However, this was definitely not the case last year. As many likely recall, last summer was the peak of Covid-19, where many plane tickets were cancelled, public swimming pools were closed, and friends would only gather if they were six feet apart outdoors. Yet, as the Covid-19 vaccines continue to be distributed across the country, businesses are reopening and a widespread number of people are feeling calmer about visiting public areas such as restaurants, gyms, and stores.

For students, a large amount of the summer is usually allocated to camps or types of academic workshops. According to an article from CNBC, last summer, however, Covid-19 caused 62% of summer camps across the nation to shut down, making the industry lose 16 billion dollars in revenue.

“Specifically in New Jersey, overnight camps were completely prohibited,” says Megan Leonhardt, a writer for CNBC. These harsh limitations on summer camps led to new, safe, and creative ideas to be executed. For example, many camps went all virtual where campers would learn and follow the teacher through a screen. Although much more difficult, the online summer camps still allowed children to stay entertained through the hot, long days. 

Additionally, due to Covid-19 many vacation destinations and trips were completely cancelled last year with many country borders, amusement parks, and beaches still closed. However, taking a look at some BCA students’ plans for this summer, it is obvious there is a great difference.

For example, rising junior, Allison Ore, was supposed to go to Europe for her first time as well as a concert festival last year. Unfortunately, both were cancelled due to Covid-19. This year, however, Allison is fully vaccinated and will be going to Hawaii as well as a Guns n Roses concert.

Another rising junior agreed with Allison.  “Last summer I stayed home and didn’t really do much since we hadn’t planned anything because of Covid-19. However, this year, my family and I rented a house and are driving down to Florida which differs from last year since we feel a little bit safer traveling.”

Clearly, as more people continue to get vaccinated, the U.S will reopen day by day. Although the country will never be the same as before the spread of Covid-19, business owners are determined to return to some sense of normalcy. So, what are you waiting to do this summer of 2021?

Works Cited

Leonhardt, Megan. “Coronavirus Forced 62% of Summer Camps to Close This Year and Early Estimates Predict the Industry Will Take a $16 Billion Revenue Hit.” CNBC. CNBC, 03 July 2020. Web. 10 June 2021.

Wwlp. “Summer Plans May Be Affected Due to High COVID-19 Case Numbers in the State.” WWLP. WWLP, 28 Apr. 2020. Web. 10 June 2021.