Biden government to provide more covid-19 tests to schools

Washington (CNN) — The Biden administration announced new initiatives Wednesday to provide an additional 10 million covid-19 tests per month to schools and students in an effort to keep classrooms open.

The administration will distribute 5 million free rapid tests and 5 million free PCR tests to schools each month, according to an administration fact sheet.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency will establish “surge” test sites in communities with high transmission. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will work with the Department of Education to help connect school districts with test providers that their states have already contracted to test for covid-19. in the schools.

“Students have sacrificed a lot over the course of the pandemic, and the President has been clear in his words and actions that his administration will do everything possible to keep schools open safely for all students,” the sheet read. informative.

The announcement comes as the number of American patients hospitalized with COVID-19 reaches record levels, and many parents wonder about the safety of their children. Public health experts have repeatedly emphasized the need to expand COVID-19 testing in schools, but it is unclear what impact the administration’s latest effort will have on the volume of students returning to classrooms. About 53 million students attended public elementary and secondary schools in 2019, according to the US Census Bureau.

According to the CDC, COVID-19 testing should be offered to students at least once a week when community transmission is at moderate, substantial, or high levels.

Some cities and school districts are already taking aggressive measures in the face of the advance of the omicron variant in the country.

Several Atlanta-area school districts have delayed face-to-face classes and started 2022 with distance learning. In Washington, public school students and staff must show negative tests for COVID-19 before returning from vacation.

And in New York City, public school students who test positive will receive a week of home testing so they can know when it is safest to return to school.

Aligning with its latest quarantine and isolation recommendations, the CDC, earlier this month, updated the guidance for preventing covid-19 in elementary and middle schools. Students, teachers and staff with COVID-19 should stay home and isolate themselves from others for at least five days, according to the guide. Day 0 is considered the first day of symptoms or the day of a positive viral test for people who do not have symptoms.

People whose symptoms are improving can come out of isolation after a full five days if they are fever-free for 24 hours, the CDC said. They should wear a mask around each other for an additional five days.

CNN’s Holly Yan and John Bonifield contributed to this report.