California Sends 14 Million COVID-19 Tests to Schools

COVID-19 rapid at-home test kits rest on a table at a free distribution event for those who received vaccination shots or booster shots, at Union Station, in Los Angeles, Calif., on Jan. 7, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO—As students and staff return from Spring Break, Gov. Gavin Newsom over the past month deployed 14.3 million COVID-19 at-home tests to halt outbreaks.

With roughly 7.2 million students and staff in the state, according to the governor’s office, the test will be distributed to all public and private schools in the state.

“California is focused on keeping schools open and students safe, and we’re not letting our guard down,” Newsom said in a March 26 statement.

The tests are handed out based on the number of students and staff in each county, according to the governor’s office.

The allocation of the tests is a part of the Governor’s SMARTER Plan—a response strategy to address the next phase of the pandemic—which has allowed for additional resources to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Aside from testing kits, 40.6 million masks have been distributed to schools along with gloves and sanitizers since students returned from winter break, according to Newsom’s office.

Spring breaks for schools throughout the state run in the months of March and April.