California’s COVID-19 Public Health Emergency is set to end on February 28, 2023. At the same time, we are running out of state funding to staff the extensive notification program we have maintained since the spring of 2021.

As such, beginning March 1, we will no longer notify elementary principals about each COVID case in their classrooms on a day-to-day basis. Instead, we will send notifications each Friday summarizing the number of cases on campus for that week and reminding families of best practices and how to get rapid test kits.

We continue to ask that families use the COVID Positive Case and Symptoms form to report students who have COVID or the symptoms. And we will continue to require a negative test on or after Day 5 (or a full ten days out of school) when a student tests positive. However, we are changing the requirement for two negative tests when students are symptomatic to just one negative test.

AUSD’s COVID-19 team will still track cases and update the public-facing dashboard on our website. And:

1. If there is an outbreak in a classroom, we will notify principals so they can send communications/instructions for families in that classroom.
2. If there is a case in a classroom with an immunocompromised student, we will send a notification for the class.
3. Staff will continue to receive notifications of positive cases as they emerge, because CalOSHA continues to mandate that.

To help keep our school communities safe, the Alameda County Public Health Department continues to emphasize:

• Staying home when sick
• Staying up-to-date on vaccinations
• Keeping gatherings smaller and outside or well-ventilated
• Wearing masks
• Covering your coughs and sneezes
• Washing hands
• Testing for COVID-19
• Having a plan to get treatment when needed