Berkeley Schools Shifting To COVID 'Response Testing'

Press release from the Berkeley Unified School District:

BERKELEY, CA — Alameda County has remained in the CDC’s low COVID-19 Community Level for the last few weeks. On February 28, after almost three years, the California COVID-19 state of emergency declared by the governor will come to an end.

Please read below for updates about some BUSD COVID-19 protocols.

Berkeley Adult School Student/Staff Testing Ends After Feb 16
Due to diminishing demand, BUSD will end COVID-19 testing at Berkeley Adult School after Thursday, February 16. Every school campus will plan to distribute another test kit to all students and staff over the next week. Please keep these tests at home for the remainder of the school year to use in the event your student needs to test-to-return to school after having COVID or test-to-return after experiencing symptoms.

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics Through June
The state of California dropped the plan to require the COVID-19 vaccination for K-12 students but continues to strongly recommend immunization for students and staff. In partnership with Carbon Health, the City of Berkeley will continue to hold vaccine clinics during the remainder of the school year. During the month of February, clinics will be held at the Frances Albrier Community Center (San Pablo Park) on Saturdays from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. Weather permitting, the clinics will be held outside.

Anyone over the age of 6 months can receive their primary dose of the Pfizer Vaccine. Those over 5 years old can receive their bivalent booster if it has been two months since their last dose. Walk in appointments are welcome, although using the link below will save time. $25 Target gift cards are still available to anyone receiving their primary series. Register for February clinics at this link.

BUSD Shifting To “Response Testing”
Following California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidance, BUSD is moving to a COVID-19 “Response Testing” strategy at this time. During “Response Testing,” the district provides tests to students/staff after a COVID exposure at BUSD, makes tests available to anyone experiencing symptoms, and makes tests generally available at school and district offices upon request. During “Response Testing” tests will not be distributed to the entire school on a regular basis. Your student can always request a test at their school office.

Covid-19 Case Dashboard To Be Updated Weekly
BUSD’s Confirmed COVID-19 case dashboard will be updated every Friday for all cases reported over the prior 7-day period that meet the dashboard criteria.

Primary Health Introduces New App for Uploading At-Home Test Results
All at-home test results should continue to be uploaded in Primary Health. We are pleased to share that Primary Health now has an app that makes uploading test results even simpler than before. Please review this video for detailed directions on how to download and register on the Primary Health app. If you are not registered in Primary Health, you can register here.

Instructions for Uploading Test Results without the App: Click on this link to sign into your Primary Health Account. After signing in, you will be prompted to upload your test results.

This press release was produced by the Berkeley Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.