Hello Oakland Unified Community,
OUSD has several updates about the COVID-19 pandemic, and what is happening in the District to mitigate its effects. The updates address the District’s mask requirement, new state COVID guidance, and the distribution of home tests prior to Spring Break.
MASKS
OUSD will keep its current indoor mask mandate for all students, staff, contractors, volunteers and visitors in place at least through April 15. We are concerned about a potential post-Spring Break surge and recognize that some individuals on District campuses will continue to need to mask (such as individuals who are symptomatic or unvaccinated and exposed). At this time, OUSD sites do not have the capacity to monitor who is required to wear a mask and who is not. We will assess the continued need for the indoor mask mandate following Spring Break, after consulting with our labor partners and other stakeholders. With respect to outdoor masking, we are consulting with our labor partners and other stakeholders and expect to announce a decision within two weeks.
NEW STATE GUIDANCE
Yesterday (March 9), the California Department of Public Health released updated public health and contact tracing guidance. We are reviewing the latest information and will update our own guidance shortly.
SPRING BREAK TESTING
As we did for Winter Break, OUSD will be distributing rapid at-home COVID test kits prior to Spring Break. The kits will be distributed to all schools, and each student and staff member will be asked to take home a kit (each kit contains two tests). Please take one test on Friday, April 8 and the second test on Sunday, April 10. If you test positive, please upload your results to Primary or email them to [email protected].
The second anniversary of the decision to close OUSD schools to in-person instruction is Sunday, March 13. As long and as challenging as these two years have been, this pandemic is not yet over. So, we must continue to move cautiously – but optimistically – in partnership with our local public health agencies, labor partners, staff, students, and families to strike a balance that keeps our schools safe while making strides toward getting us back to normal.
Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to keep our children and our schools safe and healthy.
In community,
OUSD COVID Safety Team