The COVID-19 pandemic started almost six years ago, but recently there has been an increase in cases at Berkeley High School. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), August has seen a surge of almost 12 percent in positive COVID-19 cases. According to the California Department of Public Health, there has been a 16 percent increase in cases for people up to 17 years old. According to the National Wastewater Surveillance System, California has had high levels of COVID-19 viral wastewater since Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. Wastewater is water that has been used in a home, a business, or an industrial process.
When asked about the recent outbreak, Kendra Lubalin, a World History teacher, said, “It always affects class to have a lot of students out or for students to miss parts of the lesson, because everything we do builds on everything else. So when there’s a lot of disruption of that, I feel like not only do individual students struggle, but like the class as a whole doesn’t have as much cohesive buildup of understanding.” She also talked about her experience being immunocompromised and how it impacts her susceptibility to COVID-19. “I still find it a little weird to be living in a world where there’s still, like an active pandemic for me, but not for most people,” she said.
Lubalin elaborated on how the pressures of academics and falling behind at times prevent students from staying their healthiest during the school year. “I feel like we kind of live in a culture where people get so afraid of missing something or getting behind that they’ll do more than they really can do, and then they’re sick longer, and then other people get sick, and so I guess I wish we had more of a culture that still encouraged people to take care of themselves when they didn’t feel well,” Lubalin said.
Inyo Harmon, a BHS junior, mentioned similar points when he talked about his experience of having COVID-19 this school year. “I mean, it made (school) pretty hard because I had to miss a week, and so it’s still kind of been very annoying to catch up, because a lot of the stuff is in class, taking notes which I can’t really make up,” he said.
Harmon suspects he was infected after going on a retreat with other BHS students. Harmon advises students that, “If you’re feeling kind of sick, just take a test, because I thought I was just kind of sick ... and then I tested and I had COVID.”
Hazel Levi-Lang, a current sophomore, shared her personal experience with this latest outbreak. She explained how her dad got COVID-19 recently. He was confined to their basement for a week, quarantining from the rest of the household.
Rebecca Catlett from the Berkeley Public Health Division advises students to continue practicing healthy hygiene, such as regularly washing hands, staying home if you’re symptomatic, and testing for COVID-19 and the flu if you feel sick. Catlett said that taking the responsibility to do little things can keep our peers, community, and us healthy.