Newsom Slammed For California Student COVID Test Shortage

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January 5, 2022 astatine 1:44 pm

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As the fig of COVID-19 cases surge successful California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and authorities officials are facing disapproval for failing to present connected a committedness to supply rapid, at-home tests to each California students and schoolhouse unit earlier classrooms reopened aft the wintertime break.

Millions of trial kits were sent to families earlier and during wintertime interruption but millions much were not — raising concerns astir nationalist schoolhouse information present that the state’s 6 cardinal K-12 students are returning to classrooms amid soaring rates of COVID-19 cases.

The California Department of Public Health has said it sent astir 2 cardinal accelerated tests to schoolhouse districts astatine the opening of December.

A fewer days earlier Christmas, Newsom announced a program to acquisition 6 cardinal much trial kits for students.

The extremity was to guarantee students could safely instrumentality to campuses “knowing that they person not contracted the illness implicit the holidays,” Newsom said astatine the time.

About fractional of those trial kits were delivered to section governments and schoolhouse districts past week. Others ne'er arrived owed successful portion to “distribution challenges” and delays caused by wintertime storms, California schools main Tony Thurmond told reporters connected Wednesday.

Thurman called the hold “disappointing.”

“We person 10,000 schools successful the authorities truthful it’s a daunting task, but we’ve got to find ways to marque it hap successful a much accelerated way,” helium said.

In an editorial published Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times asked wherever are each the COVID tests that Newsom promised for K-12 schools.

“Too galore California kids went backmost to schoolhouse this week without knowing whether they’re spreading the highly contagious Omicron variant,” the editorial said.

In schools that did get the tests, the results person helped forestall galore COVID-carrying students and unit from entering campuses.

The Oakland Unified School District said Tuesday that much than 900 students and unit tested affirmative earlier the commencement of schoolhouse Monday and were staying astatine home.

About fractional the cases were detected by investigating astatine schoolhouse sites during the holidays and the different fractional from accelerated at-home tests that had been distributed to students earlier and during the break.

Sacramento City Unified School District reported that much than 500 students and unit were quarantined aft investigating affirmative for COVID-19. The territory said it received astir 38,000 trial kits successful December from the Department of Public Health, though it serves astir 50,000 students.

“Unfortunately the territory did not person capable kits for each students arsenic we had expected, truthful organisation was focused connected ensuring that younger populations ineligible to person the vaccine were prioritized,” the territory said successful a statement.

In San Francisco, 406 of astir 3,600 teachers were absent for a 2nd time Tuesday aft classrooms reopened.

On a emblematic time anterior to the pandemic, betwixt 250 and 300 teachers would beryllium absent for aesculapian oregon different reasons.

Statistics for pupil absences aft the resumption of classes pursuing wintertime interruption for the 49,000-student territory were not yet available, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

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