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Move-In

move-in

Last updated: January 13, 2022

 Please review the information below about Spring 2022 Move-In. You can refer to the housing portal for information regarding your housing offer and contract information.

New Health-Related Precautions

With the current surge of Omicron and increased travel and gatherings that took place over winter break, we are taking several precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our housing and campus community. For at least the first two weeks, Cal Dining will offer all meals on a to-go basis only and with reduced service locations, hours and offerings; also, common areas in residence halls (such as lounges, kitchens, gyms, etc.) will be closed. Face coverings (preferably a KN95, KF94, N95, or combination of surgical and cloth mask) are required in all indoor settings except when you are within your own room or brushing your teeth or in the shower. We also want to make you aware that, while we will continue to provide designated isolation and quarantine space, we are also preparing for the possibility that, if there is a surge among our campus housing population, residents may need to quarantine or isolate in place in their rooms.

In addition, we are making changes to the Move-In process to ensure timely testing and response for contact tracing and isolation/quarantine housing. Please carefully review the information below on the action items you need to take prior to Move-In and once you arrive.

Spring 2022 Move-In Schedule

  • Spring 2022 Move-In will take place on January 13, 2022.
  • New residents (students moving in to campus housing for the first time ) will move in on January 13 and were invited in advance to select a one-hour Move-In time slot.
  • Returning residents may move back in any time after the buildings reopen to residents on Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 9 a.m. We ask that returning residents inform us of their expected return time/date by filling out the Move-In Time Slot Form (see details below). 

Pre-Arrival Action Items 

Please carefully read through the information below and take action as soon as possible.

1. Inform us of your intended arrival date

Returning residents: Please fill out the Move-In Time Slot Form (available in the housing portal; check your email for details) by Wednesday, January 12 to let us know when you plan to arrive so that we can plan for testing, contact tracing, meals and other logistics that will be more complex due to the current Omicron surge. We recommend that you arrive before 5 p.m. if possible. (If you live in an apartment or the Martinez Commons residence hall and are already in your unit, please fill out the form anyway so that we have this information for our staff who arrange for testing and isolation/quarantine.) 

New incoming residents: All new incoming residents were scheduled to move in during specific time slots on Thursday, January 13. If you plan to move in on a date later than originally scheduled, please fill out this form. Be sure to choose a date when you can schedule a UHS testing appointment the same day that you move in.

2. Make your appointment for required COVID-19 Move-In testing

All campus housing residents are required to get tested for COVID-19 at UHS upon Move-In. If you haven’t yet done so, please schedule your UHS COVID-19 test now via eTang. (UHS surveillance testing is available weekdays from 8am to 5pm; on Monday, January 17, the testing site will be available on a special schedule from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) See more details on testing requirements in the Required Testing section below.

3. Get tested for COVID-19 one to three days before arrival

It is strongly recommended that you get tested for COVID-19 one to three days before your arrival in Berkeley and await a negative result before traveling. You can purchase an at-home test or schedule a PCR (lab) test at a provider near you. We encourage you to arrange for testing as soon as possible, as test appointments and at-home tests are difficult to find in many areas.

If you test positive (or if you tested positive at any time over winter break), please send a message through the eTang portal to the COVID response team with the date of the positive test and upload the test result, so that they can set your badge not to require testing on arrival.  Do not come to campus if you tested positive within 10 days of move-in. 

4. Get a booster if you haven’t yet done so

If you haven’t already done so, please get a COVID-19 booster as soon as possible. Students are required to get a booster no later than the start of instruction on Jan. 18 (or by the first day you are on campus if you will be on campus before Jan. 18). Please review the instructions for how to update your vaccination record in eTang with your booster information. 

It is important that you understand that public health quarantine and isolation requirements are now more stringent for those who have not received their boosters. What this means:  Failing to get your booster could result in you being quarantined after exposure to a positive case — even though other people who are exposed to the same positive case are not required to quarantine.  You will also be required to get weekly testing starting February 1st, and most importantly, not getting boosted (if you are eligible) puts you at significantly greater risk of severe disease. Learn more about the vaccine and booster requirements.

5. Don’t come to Move-In with symptoms or a positive COVID test

If you test positive in the coming days, please send a message through the eTang portal to the COVID response team with the date of the positive test and upload the test result, so that they can set your badge not to require testing on arrival.  Do not come to campus if you tested positive within 10 days of move-in. 

 If you or your Move-In helpers develop symptoms that may be COVID-19, please do not come to Move-In. We encourage you to take a PCR lab test, and remain at home until you have received a negative test result and your symptoms have abated. (See California’s Isolation and Quarantine guidance.)

We are counting on our community of Golden Bears; please do your part to get tested, and avoid coming to Move-In with symptoms or positive test results so that we can minimize the number of residents who need to move to isolation/quarantine housing and help keep campus safe. 

Arrival Instructions

Required Move-In Testing

All campus housing residents are required to get tested for COVID-19 upon Move-In. Residents are required to take both a UHS Move-In PCR lab test as well as a rapid test.

Required PCR Lab Test at UHS

  • New incoming residents are required to take a UC Berkeley University Health Services (UHS) Move-In COVID-19 PCR lab test prior to getting keys, and the same day of their arrival. You must get tested on the same day that you move in. Even if you have taken a UHS COVID test on another day, and even if you have a green badge in the UC Berkeley mobile app, you still have to take a Move-in COVID-19 test from UHS on your Move-in day. When you get tested, UHS staff will provide you with a paper confirmation slip that you should bring to Move-in. Appointments must be scheduled in advance via eTang. 
  • Returning residents are also required to get a UHS PCR lab test, either on the day they arrive, or the first day that the UHS testing site is open after their arrival. Appointments must be scheduled in advance via eTang. 
  • Only UHS tests are acceptable for Move-in. COVID-19 tests from other organizations will not be accepted. There is no cost to residents for UHS testing.
  • Testing will take place at the Recreational Sports Facility (RSF) Field House. Note that the testing location is not adjacent to housing units.
  • UHS surveillance testing is available weekdays from 8am to 5pm; on Monday, January 17, the testing site will be open on a special schedule from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

NEW: Required Rapid Test

  • In addition to completing your UHS PCR lab test on your arrival, you will also receive a 15-minute rapid test kit at your residence hall/apartment (students living in residence halls will have test kits provided in their rooms, students living in apartments will pick up test kits at their unit front desk, or other location to be communicated via email). All students living in residence halls are required to complete this rapid test within the first hour of arrival.
  • After taking the rapid test, fill out the online attestation form confirming you have taken the test.
  • If you receive a positive result from the test kit:
    • Immediately text (preferred) or call the Covid Response Team at 510-220-7180 with your name, student ID number, your result, and note that you are currently living in campus housing. 
    • In addition, send a message through the eTang portal to the COVID response team with the date of the positive test, and upload an image of the test result.
    • Isolate in your room and wear a face covering (preferably surgical mask/cloth mask combo, KN95, or N95) at all times until a member of the COVID Response Team reaches out to you.
    • The COVID Response Team may determine that you need to be moved to our dedicated isolation/quarantine housing space; if this occurs, we will attempt to move you the same day. If you test positive in the evening, it may not be possible to arrange for you to move to isolation housing until the following day. In this case, you and your roommate(s) should continue wearing masks at all times, ventilate your room/apartment, and maintain as much distance as possible.
    • As always, students who have severe symptoms (shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting, or fever lasting more than 3 days) should seek clinical care; for milder symptoms, please stay home.

  • If your roommate tests positive, they should notify the UHS COVID Response team immediately as described above. Both you and your roommate should continue wearing masks at all times, ventilate your room/apartment as much as you can, and maintain as much distance as possible. Following assessment by the UHS COVID Response team, your roommate will most likely be moved to our dedicated isolation/quarantine housing space. If your roommate tests positive in the evening, it may not be possible to arrange for them to move to isolation housing until the following day. In this case, you and your roommate(s) should continue wearing masks at all times within and outside of your own room, ventilate your room/apartment, and maintain as much distance as possible.

What to Bring to Move-in 

If moving into your campus housing for the first time, please remember to bring:

  • Proof that you have taken a UC Berkeley UHS COVID-19 test (paper slip from the testing site)
  • A face covering that covers both your nose and mouth (preferably a KN95, KF94, N95 or combination of surgical and cloth mask). We strongly recommend that if possible, you wear the following types of face coverings given the surge of Omicron: legitimate N95s and KN95, surgical masks, 2 ply or more cloth masks, or KF94. Cloth face coverings where light can pass through the fabric are strongly discouraged. You will be provided an KN95 mask in your residence hall room upon arrival. Face coverings are required in all indoor settings except when you are within your own room or brushing your teeth or in the shower. 
  • A valid (i.e. not expired) government-issued photo ID (e.g. State ID, Driver’s License, or passport)

Your photo ID is needed to obtain your room key, Cal 1 Card student ID, and AC Transit EasyPass Clipper transit card. Other forms of identification require additional work and take longer to process, but may be accepted as follows:

  • If you don’t yet have (or have lost) the required government-issued photo ID, your high school or college ID will allow you to obtain your key, Cal 1 Card student ID, and AC Transit EasyPass Clipper transit card after you complete a form and have a temporary block placed on your registration. 
  • If you don’t have a valid government-issued ID or school ID, send an email to cal1card@berkeley.edu with your name, student ID number, and arrival date for instructions on how to proceed when you arrive.

For more information about the Cal 1 Card, please visit the Cal 1 Card Office website. For help with financial aid, billing and payment, enrollment and transcripts, please contact Cal Student Central, which is providing online and phone advising. 

Other Move-In Details

  • You may have up to two helpers with you for your Move-In. Your two helpers will be allowed access to your residence during your time slot. We will ask helpers to depart the building once you have completed your move. Helpers are not required to be vaccinated or to get tested for COVID-19, however it is strongly recommended that they do so through an external provider (UHS does not offer these services to helpers/families.)
  • Please do not share the elevator with parties other than your own.
  • Helpers are asked not to wait in lines for Check-In or for COVID-19 testing
  • One family/party at a time in elevators during Move-In. When using stairs, yield to the party traveling downstairs.
  • You may want to bring your own dolly or hand-truck for a quicker move in, since you might have to wait a while to use one of our moving carts.

Other Reminders

  • Download the UC Berkeley mobile app. Among other important features, the app offers the easiest way to show your Campus Access Badge.

  • If you haven’t done so already, please activate exposure notifications on your phone using CA Notify. It’s available for both iOS and Android and is built with the highest degrees of privacy in mind. As more people come back to campus, CA Notify will serve as an important tool to augment manual contact tracing efforts

  • Review the Checklist of what to bring (and what not to bring).
  • Check the My Room section for more information about green living, technology, renters insurance, and more.
  • See Offers to take advantage of deals and discounts exclusive to Berkeley students.

Room numbers will be available when you arrive on campus. If you need to show proof of your housing contract to a campus office, please refer to your contract confirmation page in the housing portal.