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BERKELEY'S NEWS • NOVEMBER 18, 2023

UC Berkeley to close RSF testing facility, sunset COVID-19 measures

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NORA POVEJSIL | STAFF

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APRIL 22, 2022

The Recreational Sports Facility, or RSF, will no longer provide its surveillance testing services as of May 6, according to a campuswide Response & Recovery email released April 22.

While the site is slated to shut down May 6 at 12:00 p.m., students will still have access to limited surveillance testing at the Tang Center through the summer as well as clinical and close contact testing through University Health Services, or UHS. Campus will also continue to sell rapid antigen tests at the UHS Pharmacy.

“We see a reduction in public health mandates and requirements — but clearly, that doesn’t mean the virus has vanished,” said assistant vice chancellor for UHS Guy Nicolette in the email.“Deploying the public health tools in different settings, especially the knowledge we’ve gained over the past two years, is critical to this next stage.”

In addition to closing the RSF testing facility, campus will no longer require students to complete the Daily Symptom Screener as of May 6 — at which point the Campus Access Badge will also be unavailable. Instead of using these tools, students will be expected to monitor their own symptoms on a daily basis before entering campus, the email states.

Campus has also eliminated the pre-travel approval requirement for those entering a Level 3-4 country, as determined by the CDC. As of May 3, students will only have to seek pre-approval from campus if participating in university-related travel, such as a study abroad program, according to the email.

Additionally, campus will deactivate its Recovery Management Team along with the majority of its committees. The Response & Recovery email will also be released less frequently.

“The campus is committed to using the pandemic as a learning opportunity and weaving lessons learned into ongoing operations,” the email reads.

Mallika Seshadri is the managing editor. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @SeshadriMallika.
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APRIL 22, 2022


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