COVID-19 Safety in School, Child Care, and Youth Settings

The Berkeley Public Health Officer Unit works closely with families and providers to promote safe and successful in-person learning, recreation, and care.

COVID-19 Resources FOR FAMILIES

The California Department of Public Health has created a dedicated Hub for Parents with COVID-19 resources and information called the Parent Page. For more site-specific COVID-19 information, please contact the COVID-19 Liaison at your child’s school or program. Find additional resources below:

LAYERS OF COVID-19 SAFETY

No single intervention can fully prevent COVID-19. By layering multiple safety measures, Berkeley families and providers can help protect our youth and minimize missed time participating in school, sports and social activities.

The most important safety tools to protect against COVID-19 are:

COVID-19 Vaccines: Vaccines are the most effective protection against COVID-19 for adults and children at least 6 months old. They are free to all
Indoor Masking: Making sure that children use effective masks consistently and correctly helps reduce spread of the virus
Staying home when sick: Keep or send children home when they exhibit COVID-19 symptoms
COVID-19 testing: Anyone exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or that have had close contact with someone with COVID-19 should get tested. Free testing is widely available and many schools and programs routinely test students and staff

For more information on these and other safety measures, see the California Department of Public Health's (CDPH) Safe Schools Hub and CDPH/California Department of Social Services' Guidance for Child Care Providers.

COVID-19 LIAISONS AT SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Berkeley Public Health has provided training, guidance, and support to designated COVID-19 Liaisons from public and private schools, community agencies, and child care programs across Berkeley. COVID-19 Liaisons support COVID-19 prevention and respond to COVID-19 symptoms, cases and exposures at their sites.

COVID-19 Liaisons can report COVID-19 exposures directly to Berkeley Public Health by using the School and Shared Portal for Outbreak Tracking (SPOT). Existing users can log in to report detailed exposures, request a consult or request a call back. If you have not visited SPOT before or have issues logging in, you can select “New Users” and follow the instructions on the page to fill out a SPOT intake form. Please remember to select Berkeley as the Local Health Jurisdiction (not Alameda) and double check your contact information so we can reach you. By entering detailed information in SPOT, COVID-19 Liaisons can receive a call with answers to questions within one business day. For issues with logging into SPOT, please call or email the CalCONNECT Help Desk at (916) 520-1619 and HelpDesk.CA.Connect@accenture.com

If you do not receive an email or call from our Schools Team within one business day, please email cobcd@cityofberkeley.info.

School, childcare, and youth program administrators can email EOCschools@cityofberkeley.info with training and policy questions.