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The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) this week announced a new policy requiring every returning student, teacher and staff member to participate in weekly COVID-19 testing, regardless of their immunization status.
LAUSD, the country’s second largest public school system, has approximately 75,000 employees serving more than 600,000 K-12 students. He had previously required coronavirus testing only for those who had not been fully vaccinated. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for inoculation.
Acting Superintendent Megan K. Reilly broke the news in a letter to parents on Thursday.
“As part of our efforts to maintain the safest possible environment for students and employees, we are closely monitoring changing health conditions and adapting our response in preparation for our full return to in-person learning. August 16, ”Reilly wrote.
“All students and employees, vaccinated and unvaccinated, who return for in-person instruction should participate in the basic and ongoing weekly COVID testing,” she continued. “This is in accordance with the most recent guidelines from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.”
The Los Angeles Times pointed out, “The county health department does not require testing of those vaccinated in schools, but it does allow local school systems to adopt a more stringent testing policy.”
Basic testing for those returning to campus begins Monday August 2.
According to The Times, the deadline for families to choose distance learning and stay off campus was Friday.
County health officials on Friday reported 3,606 new cases of COVID-19, 991 infected people hospitalized and five deaths. The recent increase in transmission has been attributed to the highly infectious delta variant.
LA County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said Thursday the department was not considering ordering schools to close and stressed that vaccination was the best strategy to reduce infection rates.
The most recent data from the Ministry of Health shows that 45.8% of children aged 12 to 15 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, while 58.3% of 16 and 17 year olds have received at least an injection.
“It is clear that vaccination rates among young people throughout LA County are much lower than those for the elderly, and with more opportunities to mix,” Ferrer said Thursday.
United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the union representing more than 33,000 district employees, released a statement supporting the weekly testing.
“Vaccines are like seat belts: necessary but not invincible,” UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said, according to the LA Times. “Just as we need seat belts, airbags and speed limits, we need masks, ventilation and testing to keep school communities safe. “
Acting Superintendent Reilly said LAUSD officials believe the district “has the highest COVID safety standards of any public school district in the country.”
In addition to the mandatory weekly testing, she highlighted the district’s mask requirement, physical distancing measures, improved air filtration systems, and in-depth sanitation efforts, such as frequent hand washing.
Related: DeSantis Fires Back, Will Sign Ordinance Protecting Parents’ Rights To Childrens Masks
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