May 27, 2022
The city will offer schools an additional 4 million home tests
Every week until the end of the school year
NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams, New York Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor David C. Banks, New York Test & Trace Corps (Test & Trace) and New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH ). ) announced today that the city’s in-school surveillance testing program has conducted over two million PCR COVID-19 tests on students and school staff this school year. In addition to supporting the city’s Stay Safe, Stay Open plan, an additional four million home tests will be delivered to schools each week through the end of the school year.
“Schools in New York City are the safest place for our children because we’ve taken steps to make testing accessible,” he said Mayor Adams. “We know what works – by doubling down on COVID-19 testing in schools, getting our students vaccinated and sending students, teachers and staff home with tests, we’ve kept our schools open and let students learn in person.” I would like to thank the dedicated school testing team who helped make this possible and provided our students with an undisturbed, world-class education in New York City.”
“So many people across the city live in multi-generational family homes, with K-12 students, mom, dad and grandparents together,” he said Deputy Mayor for Health and Welfare Anne Williams-Isom. “Family members with pre-existing medical conditions may be at greater risk of contracting the virus and experiencing more severe symptoms of the disease. Therefore, surveillance tests in schools have been an essential part to protect not only the student but the whole family. Thank you to the Test & Trace team, DOE and everyone who makes this work possible every day in schools across all five counties.”
“Thanks to the resilience of our school communities, the continuation of our gold standard approach to health and safety, and our robust surveillance testing program, schools have stayed open and students have stayed in classrooms and have received the support they need,” he said Chancellor Banks. “I’m proud of our continued partnership with the New York City Test & Trace Corps and grateful that we can continue to provide the resources needed to keep our students, staff and communities safe.”
“Our COVID-19 surveillance testing program has proven schools are the healthiest, safest place for our students and has enabled us to keep our schools open through every stage of the pandemic,” he said dr Ted Long, executive director, NYC Test & Trace Corps; and senior vice president of ambulatory care and population health, NYC Health + Hospitals. “I am so proud that in New York City we have created a national model of how we can provide safe, in-person education – which has been and will be critical in helping our students recover from the COVID-19 pandemic to recover.”
“Those two million tests have protected families, friends and communities, and kept our children where they are safest and healthiest — in our schools,” he said DOHMH Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan. “Schools are among the safest places from COVID-19 transmission and that is the result of the teamwork in conducting this incredibly successful testing effort.”
surveillance tests in school
The city’s School Surveillance Testing Program, a multi-agency initiative coordinated by DOE, DOHMH and Test & Trace, administers tests at over 1,900 school sites and conducts nearly 80,000 tests weekly to ensure city schools were the safest place for young people and remain during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school surveillance testing program — the largest in the country — was expanded in February to double the number of people tested in each school by including both unvaccinated and vaccinated students, as well as staff. The randomized in-school surveillance program continues to provide public health professionals with an up-close look at COVID-19 in schools.
All families, regardless of whether their youngster is vaccinated, should agree to an in-school test or return a signed consent form to their school.
keep schools open
From early May through the end of the school year, an additional four million additional tests will be delivered at home to students and school staff each week to support the city’s Stay Safe, Stay Open plan. Since classes resumed on January 3, 2021, over 16 million home tests have been delivered to schools.
Under the Stay Safe, Stay Open plan, every student and adult in a classroom with a positive case is immediately given a home rapid test kit and is required to undergo two tests within five days. Students who are asymptomatic do not need to quarantine and can continue to school if they test negative. This policy goes further than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, which only apply to designated close contacts.
###
