Some California Schools Are Testing Kids For the Coronavirus Twice a Week Before Letting Them Inside

With mounting evidence that students are suffering from mental health issues and learning loss, and nearly a year after schools shut their doors due to the pandemic, the hope is that rapid testing will help schools bring their students back into classrooms. The California Endowment, an organization that works to bring health care to underserved communities, is funding the program with $2 million.

Dr. Tony Iton, senior vice president for healthy communities at the endowment, says rapid antigen testing could prove to be an important tool in the process of bringing teachers and students together again — physically.

“We think we can create a school setting where the risk of an outbreak of the virus is reduced to a very, very, very low level,” Iton said. “And that would make the school a safer place to be than in a grocery store or at a restaurant or a bar.”