Students Get Free COVID Tests Following Winter Break
Nearly 150,000 free at-home rapid COVID tests were distributed this week to K-12 public and charter school students in Alameda County returning to school from winter break. The shipment is part of the 6 million promised by California Governor Newsom to help fight against the surging Omicron variant.
Castro Valley students were among the first to receive their allocation of the iHealth antigen rapid test kits. A massive distribution effort this past Saturday saw drive-through pick-up events at Canyon and Creekside Middle Schools. A total of 9,270 of the orange and white boxes were given out—one per enrolled student. Each kit contains two tests that take 15 minutes to view results. A line under both the "C" and the "T" markers on the test strip indicates a positive test. Students were instructed to swab two days in a row prior to attending classes on Monday.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, and county health officials including Alameda County Superintendent of Schools, L. K. Monroe, and Alameda County Health Care Services Agency Director, Colleen Chawla were at the Canyon Middle School campus helping hand out the kits to parents and students. Officials used the event to stress the importance of vaccinations and testing.
"We want you to be safe," said Thurmond. "Take these tests. Have awareness before coming to school. If someone's not well, stay home and quarantine. Let's keep the rest of the school community safe."
A similar process was used to distribute personal protective equipment to thousands of schools at the onset of the pandemic. Deliveries of these rapid test kits are underway across the state.
Castro Valley’s shipment came a few days before the rest of the other 17 school districts in Alameda County to the surprise and delight of Castro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Parvin Ahmadi.
“We’re so lucky to have received these tests early,” Ahmad said. “The other shipments were delayed by a few days because of the winter snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.”
Other school districts picked up their shipments earlier this week and made their own plans for distribution.
Currently, there is no mandate for students to test before coming back to school in Alameda County. The only requirement is wearing a face covering and either showing proof of vaccination or agreeing to weekly testing. If a COVID test is positive, the parent must report the results. School officials advised students and staff who have tested positive for COVID on or after Dec. 24, or who are symptomatic, to not attend school for the first few days this week.
"The parents also know that their student needs to stay home. So, our nurses and our staff follow up with the family to make sure that they quarantine the number of days they're supposed to quarantine and isolate," said Ahmadi.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone ages 5 years and older get a COVID-19 vaccine. Booster shots are approved for U.S. children ages 16 and 17 and all adults. Of the nearly 140,000 students in Alameda County, a little more than 50 percent of students ages 5-11 have had at least one dose of COVID vaccine, and students aged 12-17 are reportedly 72 percent fully vaccinated, according to a County Schools spokesperson.
On Saturday, Thurmond also announced a new campaign to help hire 10,000 new school counselors and mental health support staff to assist students grappling with the short-term and long-term effects of COVID including emotional support and academic aid. The statewide program to hire counselors includes recruitment and tuition reimbursement, Thurmond said.