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I’m writing to share with you the latest information the District has about COVID-19 (coronavirus). There are still currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Berkeley or Alameda County. While handling the spread of a serious contagion like the COVID-19 is primarily a job for public health agencies, I want to assure you that leadership at Berkeley Unified School District is closely monitoring information coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and continuing to seek regular updates from Alameda County Department of Public Health, Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) and the City of Berkeley Public Health Officer, Dr. Lisa Hernandez.  

The CDC reports that person-to-person spread of COVID-19 appears to occur mainly by respiratory transmission. The California Department of Public Health advises the following steps to prevent the spread of all respiratory viruses: 

• Wash hands with soap and water.
• Avoid touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
• Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough.

As a reminder, here are guidelines the District provides to parents for determining when your child should stay home from school.  

• If your child feels ill enough that he/she would not be able to benefit from attending school.
• If having your child at school would significantly put others at risk for contacting your child’s illness.
• If your child has vomited in the last 24 hours.
• If your child has had a fever in the last 24 hours.

As always, the health and safety of our students and staff remain our number one priority, and as such we will continue to communicate information about COVID-19 as the situation develops.