As many as 200,000 rapid antigen test kits are being shipped to schools use by staff, teachers and administrators with symptoms of COVID-19 in BC schools.
The number of teaching and non-teaching staff will determine the number of tests received by each school district. In B.C., there are approximately 86,700 public school employees, 16,000 employees of independent schools and 1,000 employees in First Nation schools.
The test kits for the K-12 sector was received from Artron Laboratories Inc., a Burnaby-based company and is in addition to supplies provided to medical health officers in health authorities that will continue to be used to investigate clusters and outbreaks in schools.
The Ministry of Education said it continues to engage with experts on ventilation and on improving ventilation systems, including the deployment of HEPA filters in classrooms that do not have access to mechanical ventilation systems.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, B.C. has invested $114.5 million to assist school districts in upgrading ventilation in thousands of classrooms across the province. Additional funding to support further ventilation improvements and upgrades in K-12 public schools will soon be made available.
