On Monday, Jan. 25, the California Department of Health announced in a press release that the Alameda County region meets the criteria to exit the Regional Stay at Home Order and return to the Purple tier due to encouraging long-term projections for ICU bed availability. Since Saturday, Dec. 5, Alameda County has been in a Regional Stay at Home order, due to unprecedented rises in the rate of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and test positivity rates across California, according to the California Department of Public Health website.
“At the moment, things in Alameda county are starting to look better. The week [of Jan. 18 – Jan. 25], the adjusted case rate was 37.7 per 100,000 residents, and last week it went down to 28.9. Given the big change we saw over the last week, many of us expect to see the adjusted case rate drop below 25 by [Feb. 2],” PUSD Nurse Carol Menz said.
However, PHS currently does not have an expected date to return to in-person learning, and will not be permitted to reopen until the adjusted case rate drops below seven per 100,000, and stays there for five days, according to Nurse Menz.
On Jan. 14, California Governor Gavin Newsom released his “Safe Schools for All Plan” which includes additional requirements that must be added to PUSD’s current reopening plan in order for students to come back. Piedmont’s revised reopening plan was sent to students and parents on Monday, Feb. 1.
“I am hopeful that we will have many more students back in classrooms in the near future,” said Piedmont Unified School District (PUSD) Superintendent Randall Booker. “District leaders are working to ensure that we transition smoothly into the next phase once Alameda County COVID infection rates drop and we are permitted to expand in-person learning.”
PUSD submitted its revised reopening plan to the Alameda County Office of Education on Monday, Feb. 1, according to the PUSD Update on Return to In-Person Learning, which was sent out to teachers and parents.
“If the plan is accepted and infection rates are in the safe zone, we will be on track to reopen and phase students back into Beach, Havens, and Wildwood as early as Feb. 9,” Booker said.
The district is also making preparations to reopen the middle school and high school while following the updated guidelines for reopening, according to the PUSD Update on Return to In-Person Learning.
“We are confident that we will be able to reopen our middle and high schools when permitted by the [Alameda County] public health department,” Booker said.
PUSD has also planned to implement many mitigation measures such as mask-wearing, social distancing, hand washing and sanitizing, health screening, and maximizing airflow/ventilation in order to keep the transmission rates low if there is a possible outbreak, said PUSD nurse Carol Menz.
“At PUSD we have put many health and safety mitigation measures in place, so we are anticipating a successful reopening when the numbers allow us to do so,” Menz said.
On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Newsome announced that individuals 65 and older may apply to receive the vaccine as demand subsides among healthcare workers.
“[The next phase in the vaccine rollout] will expand vaccine eligibility to large groups of people, and we are working across multiple partners and sectors to update and prepare for mass vaccination scenarios,” according to an Alameda County press release. “We are committed to safe and equitable vaccine distribution, and our strategy is to make vaccine readily and easily available through County-administered points of dispensing and partnership with health care systems and community clinics/organizations.”
