(File photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Angie Rolheiser

COVID-19 testing

NESD Director of Education weighs in on rapid testing kits being shipped to Sask. schools

Mar 22, 2021 | 5:02 PM

The Saskatchewan government announced on Monday that 100,000 rapid test kits were being shipped to Saskatchewan K-12 schools.

North East School Division director of education Don Rempel told northeastNOW the rapid tests won’t make a change on daily operations.

The tests are simply being made available for certain scenarios, according to Rempel.

“There might be times where there is a high instance of community transmission or maybe some anxiety in a school community,” Rempel said. “Some testing might be able to provide some level of assurance of safety.”

The tests could be put to use later this week if needed.

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In most circumstances, the regular process of following up on symptoms would still be the protocol.

“We really want to stress that staff and students continue to monitor themselves daily and not go to work or school if they are displaying any of the symptoms related to COVID-19,” Rempel said.

The rapid antigen tests use a short nasal swab and can be administered by laypeople who have completed a training program through the Saskatchewan Health Authority lab. Schools will work with their local medical health officers to determine when testing is appropriate and will work with parents and caregivers to ensure consent is in place.

“All of our students and staff are in school for a six hour day and then go into the community so there is not a real application for rapid tests as far as school operations is concerned,” Rempel said. “It might be able to provide that assurance if there was an outbreak.”

The nature of rapid testing is that they would only be used on small numbers at a time. Rempel said the tests would have to be deployed strategically when the health authority feels there is a purpose for a quick turn around in results.

“A rapid testing program in schools is another excellent tool to help monitor the presence of COVID-19,” Education minister Dustin Duncan said in a media release. “The safety of students, teachers, and school staff is our government’s priority, and school staff and students have done an excellent job in helping to prevent transmission of the virus.”

Teachers and school staff are not expected to administer the tests, the government said. Public health would still be leading the tracking of transmission.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser