The state reported Saturday that it has distributed more than 14.3 million COVID-19 at-home tests to schools for students and staff in the last month, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom.
With roughly 7.2 million students and staff returning from spring break this coming week, California is maintaining the operational readiness and resource stockpiles to quickly distribute tests to help minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Newsom’s spokesperson said that, in partnership with local county offices of education, California has allocated tests based on the total number of students and staff — in both public and private schools — in each of the state’s 58 counties.
“California is focused on keeping schools open and students safe, and we’re not letting our guard down,” Newsom said. “We know that COVID-19 is still present in our communities, but the SMARTER Plan is how we keep people safe and continue moving the state forward.”
In addition to these tests, the state has made personal protective equipment (PPE) available for any school that needs it — already having distributed over 40.6 million KN95s, N95s, and surgical masks to schools since the return from winter break. Throughout the pandemic, the state distributed over 1 billion PPE units to schools, including items such as masks, gloves, hand sanitizers and more.