ALAMEDA — The Alameda school district will begin an ambitious program Wednesday to test all its employees and students for COVID-19 as it works to reopen elementary schools under a hybrid model March 8.
Testing will start with employees who are already on campuses. It will then expand to students who are going to schools for learning hubs and small group instruction.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed “Safe Schools for All” plan announced Dec. 30, districts must submit a plan to test all students and staff before reopening their campuses to students once the county case rate falls to 25 cases per 100,000 residents. The plans must be based on what state and local health orders say is safe for resuming in-person instruction.
As of Monday, the case rate for Alameda County was 28.9 cases per 100,000 residents, according to the district.
The governor’s plan calls for weekly testing for all staff and students if the case rate is greater than 14 cases per 100,000 residents. And biweekly testing if the case rate is less than 14 cases per 100,000 residents.
“Initiating a large-scale public health testing program is clearly a massive undertaking for a public school district,” Superintendent Pasquale Scuderi said in a statement, “one that requires considerable staff time and focus. We are determined to meet this new state mandate, however, because we are committed to safely bringing students and staff back on campus as soon as possible.”
Testing for Alameda school employees will start Wednesday at the district’s administrative offices, 2060 Challenger Drive, said Susan Davis, a district spokeswoman.
Trustees approved a contract on Jan. 26 with National Labs, of Hayward, to provide testing via nasal swabs for all employees and students — a total of about 10,700 people — as schools begin reopening.
Alameda schools also have signed a contract with Curative Labs for testing. The district also may hire other testing companies if needed to complete state and county requirements, Davis said.
“We are starting on a relatively small scale in order to pilot the program,” Scuderi said in a statement. “This progressive build toward testing thousands of students and staff each week will require constant monitoring and adjustments. We are moving into a large-scale operation that is uncharted territory for our district and districts across the state.”
Along with approving a contract for testing at their Jan. 26 meeting, trustees signed off on applying for state funds to reopen schools and a resolution in support of Senate Bill 14, which supports student mental health needs.
There is no direct cost to the district to administer the tests for COVID-19. Health care providers of employees will be billed, along with those that provide coverage for the families of students.
“We want to make it very clear, however, that AUSD cannot open its schools until current public health conditions match the criteria set by our county and state departments of health,” Scuderi said in a Jan. 15 letter to parents. “To underscore, the public health criteria for reopening schools is set by state and county public health directives, not individual school districts.”
In order to be cleared for schools to reopen this spring, Newsom’s plan demands that districts lay out protocols for mask-wearing, social distancing, hand-washing, cleaning and disinfecting, as well as for managing COVID-19 cases among students and employees.
“I am grateful for the hard work of staff, the continued advocacy of our families, and the
collaboration of our educators,” school board President Mia Bonta said in a statement. “We want our community to know that as a board we are committed to getting our students back to in-person instruction. We know the classroom is the best place for teaching, learning, and the social and emotional support our students need to thrive.”
Alameda school trustees will have a special meeting on Thursday, when they are expected to review plans for reopening schools. It will start at 6:30 p.m. More information is available at www.alameda.k12.ca.us or 510-337-7000.
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Alameda schools plan mass COVID-19 testing - East Bay Times
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