30,000 COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits Distributed to Yolo Schools

Woodland, CA - With the number of COVID-19 cases rising amid the spread of the omicron variant, school districts in Yolo County are distributing at-home COVID-19 antigen rapid tests this week to all students and staff.

Earlier today, the Yolo County Office of Education (YCOE) announced it had received nearly 30,000 iHealth rapid test kits from the state to support school testing in public and charter schools.

YCOE partnered with the Yolo County Health and Human Services and the California Office of Emergency Services to acquire and distribute the testing kits to local school districts. The shipment of test kits arrived in Woodland on Tuesday and was quickly distributed to school districts.

The rapid test kits will be distributed throughout the week at local schools in Yolo County. Parents and families are instructed to look for communication from their school district to learn how test kits will be distributed to students and families.

On December 22, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California would provide at-home rapid testing kits to every K-12 student in public and charter schools. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) ordered six million at-home rapid test kits to support the campaign.

The rapid test kits were originally scheduled to arrive last week to allow schools to distribute the tests before students and staff returned to school after winter break. Poor weather conditions with recent rain and snowstorms delayed the transportation of the kits.

“We appreciate the Governor and the state providing test kits for Yolo County schools at a time when rapid kits are difficult and challenging for our parents and families to find,” said County Superintendent Garth Lewis.

While test kits will be distributed to all, Lewis states there is no local or statewide testing requirement to attend school. Lewis said, “We would encourage families to utilize testing to help us keep our schools open and prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the school community.”

In a community letter addressing the return to school, Dr. Aimee Sisson, Public Health Officer, reinforced the importance of testing. Sisson said, “This widespread testing as students return to school will quickly identify any students infected with COVID-19 to prevent further spread within the school community.”

Students and staff will receive one box of rapid tests with two tests included. Based on the recommendation of Yolo County Public Health, individuals are asked to test immediately and again one to three days later. The results of the test are available in under 30 minutes.

Each box of rapid tests comes with instructions on how to use the test kits and submit results. Individuals are asked to report positive and negative results.

The test kits were provided at no cost to school districts. CDPH states the funding to supply the test kits was provided by the federal government. All test kits distributed are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under emergency use authorization.