Greater than two months after state officers lifted an indoor masks mandate for public college college students, Berkeley Unified leaders would require college students to masks up once more for the final two weeks of the tutorial 12 months amid a surge of COVID circumstances.
In a memo to folks, Superintendent Brent Stephens mentioned all college students, workers and folks at district campuses and amenities should start carrying masks on Monday. The mandate contains folks attending indoor college occasions and indoor graduations, even these happening off campus.
The transfer follows a gathering between the district’s COVID response workforce and Berkeley public well being companions “to debate the COVID-19 surge we at the moment are experiencing,” the letter reads. Stephens mentioned Berkeley Well being Officer Lisa Hernandez advisable the masks reinstatement “to guard college students and workers from additional publicity and transmission, to make sure the completion of the in individual college 12 months and related ceremonies.”
“As we're not a well being company, we should depend on these specialists to information us,” Stephens wrote. He indicated the district is seeing a rise in classroom COVID clusters, which might recommend the virus is spreading.
“Our collective objective within the remaining weeks of faculty is to make sure the final two weeks and accompanying celebrations may be attended by as lots of our college students and households as potential,” the memo reads. “Now we have stored our colleges open by means of surges this 12 months due largely to community-wide adherence to our mitigation methods.”
The district can also be taking different precautions to mitigate the unfold of the virus at a time when graduations, remaining courses, celebrations and senior journeys are in full swing.
It's resuming shut contact notifications, asking workers to maneuver again to Zoom conferences and outside occasions when potential and recommending all college students and workers experiencing “even one COVID-19 symptom” to remain house and check for the virus.
The district is experiencing a continued scarcity of substitute academics and rising variety of workers absences, leaving directors “working in our lecture rooms as academics whereas academics are forgoing their planning intervals to fill in for colleagues who're in poor health,” Stephens wrote.