NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York City will double the amount of testing done in schools and distribute at-home test kits “widely” when students return in January as the omicron variant continues to drive COVID-19 cases in the Tri-State.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the initiatives at a briefing Tuesday. He was joined virtually by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Eric Adams.
De Blasio said schools must remain open and that he’s been working closely with Hochul and Adams to ensure that happens when students return to classrooms on Jan. 3.
Currently, PCR testing is done weekly in every school. The mayor said the amount of weekly PCR testing would be doubled to get a greater sample size in each school. The expansion of testing will include both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, as well as teachers and staff.
The city will also rely more on at-home test kits after Hochul directed 2 million at-home rapid tests to schools in the five boroughs.
The mayor said test kits will be “widely” distributed to every classroom. If there’s a positive case in a classroom, every child in it will take home two test kits over the course of seven days.
Students can continue to go to school if they test negative and are asymptomatic.
“This guarantees more consistency in their education, it guarantees fewer disruptions, which parents have rightfully said have been a tremendous challenge for them,” de Blasio said. “We have a lot of evidence now, it has told us this is the approach that is going to work for the future.”
Hochul said the state is seeing more kids hospitalized with the rise of the omicron variant. She urged parents to get their children vaccinated.
“This new variant is affecting children more than the past variants,” the governor said. “Before we always said, ‘Don’t worry so much, it’s not really affecting children.’ That was a different variant. It is affecting children more, but the ones who are getting severely sick, so far, are the unvaccinated children.”
Adams, who becomes mayor on Jan. 1, called the new approach to testing in schools a “smart decision.”
“This way we can identify those who are impacted by COVID and distribute […] millions of tests to staff and parents to test at home,” Adams said.
De Blasio also announced that 40 more city-run testing sites are opening, bringing the total to over 160 sites.
“We will increase testing capacity citywide to make it easier for young people to get checked and provide free vaccinations at sites around the city,” Adams said. “We’re meeting a surge in the virus with a surge in resources.”
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