COVID-19 Updates

COVID TESTING

Due to the increased travel and social interactions that often occurs during school-breaks, it is recommended that students and staff get tested for COVID-19 prior to returning to school following summer break.

PUSD has partnered with Phamatech to provide PUSD staff, students, and their immediate family members who are a close contact or exhibiting symptoms with convenient drive-thru access to testing, as well as expedited results. 

Phamatech is located at 15175 Innovation Drive, San Diego, CA 92128

You must make an appointment in advance: Appointment portal linked here

Appointments are available 7 days per week – times vary per day. The tests are free with insurance*:

• You will be asked to provide all insurance information. Phamatech will bill your insurance for the test. There is no copay.

*CARES ACT funding for testing will end on Friday, March 18, ,2022, which covers testing for uninsured persons. All testing starting Saturday, March 19, 2022, will require payment or private insurance

Again, this is for all PUSD Staff, students, and their family members exposed to COVID (you must check the “exposed box” when making appointment)

Other Free COVID-19 Testing Sites:

Escondido - North Inland Live Well Center - 649 W. Mission Avenue, Escondido, CA 92025
Appointment Required
Available Tuesday through Saturday, 7am - 7pm

Escondido - Palomar Family YMCA - 1050 N. Broadway, Escondido, CA 92026
Walk-ins accepted, Appointment Recommended
Available Monday through Friday, 10am - 5:30pm

Cal State San Marcos - 333 S. Twin Oaks Valley Road, San Marcos, CA 92078
No appointment necessary
Testing is located in Parking Lot B
Available Sunday through Thursday, 10:30 am – 5:00 pm
 
San Diego – North Central Public Health Center - 5055 Ruffin Road, San Diego, CA 92123
Appointment required
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

IF YOU OR YOUR CHILD TESTS POSITIVE

On June 30, 2022, the CDPH released this updated guidance, effective July 1, 2022, for K-12 schools for the 2022-23 school year. If you or your child tests positive (regardless of vaccination status, previous infection, or lack of symtpoms), please follow these CDPH recommendations:

• Report all positive cases to your school or department/program
• Stay home (PDF) for at least 5 days after start of symptoms (or after date of first positive test if no symptoms).
• Isolation can end after Day 5 if symptoms are not present or are resolving and a diagnostic specimen* collected on Day 5 or later tests negative.
• If unable to test, choosing not to test, or testing positive on Day 5 (or later), isolation can end after Day 10 if fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications.
• If fever is present, isolation should be continued until 24 hours after fever resolves.
• If symptoms, other than fever, are not resolving, continue to isolate until symptoms are resolving or until after Day 10. If symptoms are severe, or if the infected person is at high risk of serious disease, or if they have questions concerning care, infected persons should contact their healthcare provider for available treatments.
• Per CDPH masking guidance, infected persons should wear a well-fitting mask around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings (see masking section below for additional information).

MASKING

Indoor masking in K-12 school settings continues to be a strong recommendation, but not required. Masking in schools continues to be optional for students, staff, and families. We honor individual choice and will ensure that our school communities do as well.

CLASSROOM HEALTH AND SAFETY MITIGATION STRATEGIES

• Masks are voluntary and left to the discretion of individual employees and students
• Reinforce and promote washing hands throughout the day, and covering coughs and sneezes among students and staff
• Plexiglass desk shields are still available on all school campuses to be utilized in classrooms as needed
• HEPA air cleaners are provided and maintained in all classrooms 
• Air filtration systems (MERV 11 or 13 pending the unit type/model) utilize a mix of indoor and outdoor air exchanges
• Maximum filters have been installed at all schools and are monitored regularly
• Routine nightly classroom cleaning
• Drinking fountains may be open and used by students and staff

POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT COVID-19 DASHBOARD

Due to a backlog of cases with the public health department and the influx of at-home testing kits, we will no longer wait for official confirmation of a positive case before adding it to this dashboard. All positive COVID-19 cases reported to Poway Unified school sites and offices will be posted to this page. For the purposes of this dashboard, PUSD is distinguishing between school-based cases and community-based cases, with two separate columns for every month in the table below:

• "S.B." School-Based cases: 

• Known "C.B." Community-Based cases: