Families sending kids to school should consider limiting other public activities to lower overall exposures
Berkeley's Health Officer will give middle and high schools the option to open on November 9 if they create and post site-specific plans that incorporate City criteria to reduce spread of COVID-19 among students, faculty and staff.
Schools seeking to open must require practices now familiar to all: face coverings, physical distancing, eliminating gatherings, staying home when sick, and increased hygiene and cleaning.
These measures reflect the reality of an easily spreading disease with no proven treatment nor vaccine: there will be cases in schools, but smart, science-based practices can reduce spread before and after someone tests positive.
Berkeley Public Health has created services to support school openings, including:
- Expanded availability of systematic testing to teachers and staff
- Creation of a 6-part disease prevention training for schools
- Requiring Public Health staff site visits
- Providing continued technical assistance, including Q&A sessions with school staff
This Health Order -- which parallels a separate health order for the rest of the county -- means that all grades will be able to resume school in Berkeley for the first time since a Bay Area-wide shut down on March 17.
"COVID-19 remains a threat, but science, data and the generally good adherence to public health guidance allows the opening of this socioemotional and educational priority for children," said Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez, Berkeley's Health Officer. "The daily preventive actions people took helped lower case rates. As more public activities open, those actions become even more critical."
Guidance for schools
Each school in Berkeley seeking to re-open must create a plan that complies with requirements outlined in the state's Industry Guidance for Schools and School-Based Programs as well as the City of Berkeley's Health Order.
This plan must be posted on a school's website and shared with their school community prior to reopening. As with elementary schools, which were given the option to open on October 13, middle and high schools in Berkeley must:
- Conduct systematic testing, regardless of symptoms, of all staff and volunteers at least once a month.
- Ensure prompt testing and isolation of any symptomatic staff and student as well as quarantine for those who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
- Meet state requirements on physical distancing by using strategies such as hybrid school schedules that allow only a subset of students on campus on any given day.
- Designate at least two trained COVID-19 liaisons who will coordinate with the City of Berkeley on all COVID-19 related matters, including case investigation and contact tracing. Berkeley Public Health will support schools when cases emerge.
Healthy daily habits and smart choices take on greater importance
Each person's preventive actions accumulate across a community to strengthen our resilience to spread.
Wearing face coverings, practicing physical distancing, and frequently washing your hands continue to be critical. As more options for public activities open, so do opportunities for spread of the virus. Rather than partaking in every activity available, try to stay within a budget of exposures.
Make choices that minimize risk -- avoiding confined spaces, crowds and close contact with those outside your household . When you choose one activity, make a tradeoff for what other activity you will forgo. If you get a haircut one week, you might sacrifice eating at a restaurant and get takeout the next evening instead.
To lower their overall risk budget, parents considering sending their kids to school should consider what other less important public activities to give up. Kids attending school - like all other children - should not then have slumber parties or playdates.
"If we're not careful, our own behaviors can spread the virus," said Dr. Hernandez. "Having healthy daily habits and being selective about which low-risk activities you prioritize and which ones you forgo helps maintain options for public activities, including critical needs such as schools."
