BPHC shares guidance on COVID-19, respiratory viruses as children return to school

BOSTON — The Boston Public Health Commission is sharing guidance on COVID-19 and other common respiratory viruses as children return to school.

BPHC is recommending that families have COVID-19 rapid testing kits available at home and ready to use if anyone is feeling sick or if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. They say that testing before returning to school will protect others from infections. Officials also recommend resting before events when they will be around older adults or others at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

In collaboration with nonprofits and community-based organizations, BPHC has created an expansive network of distribution hubs where residents can get free at-home rapid testing kits. A full list of destruction hubs can be found here.

BPHC also operates two clinics at the Bruce C. Bolling Building in Roxbury and City Hall that offer free COVID-19 vaccines, boosters, and rapid at-home testing kits which can be taken on-site.

Next week the Bruce C. Bolling Building location will be open from Tuesday through Saturday, from 12-6 p.m. Normal hours of operation (Thursdays-Saturdays from 12-6pm) will resume the following week.

“Being prepared is one of the best strategies to protect ourselves and others as we begin to settle back into school and testing for COVID-19 if you are feeling sick or have been exposed is one of the best ways we can protect our classmates, colleagues, and family members,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, Commissioner of Public Health and Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission.

According to BPHC, the FDA and CDC are expected to issue approvals for updated COVID-19 vaccines and schedules in the coming weeks.

The following steps should be taken to protect yourself from getting sick with COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses:

• Having COVID-19 rapid testing kits available at home to test if you have symptoms of COVID-19.
• Staying home when sick and wearing a mask if you are around others while ill or have to leave the house.
• Talk to your trusted healthcare provider about treatment if you test positive for COVID-19 or flu and are at high risk for severe disease.
• Wearing a well-fitting face mask, especially in crowded indoor settings and/or if you are at high risk of severe illness.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
• Regularly disinfecting and cleaning high-touch surfaces.

Boston has seen increases in COVID-19 rates over the past month.

While the number of COVID-19 particles in the wastewater (948 RNA copies/mL on August 23) has remained stable over the past two weeks, it remains higher than at the beginning of the summer (247 RNA copies/mL on June 7).

Hospitalizations have also increased since the beginning of August. As of August 26, there were a total of 69 new weekly hospitalizations in Boston.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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