News Update

California to provide every K-12 student with a take-home Covid test

California plans to provide schools with enough at-home Covid-19 tests for every K-12 student — around 6 million — when they return from winter break, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Wednesday.

The California Department of Public Health has already distributed around 2 million at-home tests to schools this month and will work with districts and county health offices to expand that to provide one or two rapid tests for every student, according to a Governor’s Office news release. Several districts throughout the state provided parents with free at-home test kits as students left for winter break, though they aren’t requiring students to take them.

“As we fight omicron, there is nothing more important for our kids than keeping schools safely open — that means deploying rapid tests,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said in a statement.

The state will also expand antigen test availability and expand hours for state-sponsored testing sites, the news release said.