Schools should institute routine COVID-19 testing

The best way for educators to teach and for students to learn is to be in person in the classroom. To return to more inperson instruction, schools must stick with layered COVID -19 mitigation strategies as outlined by top public health experts, including those at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But far too many are missing a critical layer: routine COVID -19 testing.

Testing provides communities with clear assurance that cases, specifically asymptomatic cases, are low or, hopefully, nonexistent in their school buildings. A January Rockefeller Foundation review of testing programs in select districts across the country found that weekly screening of all students and staff can reduce in-school infections by 50 percent.

Closer to home, the Times Union recently reported that testing has turned up few positive cases in Albany, Bethlehem, Watervliet or North Colonie. Yet that’s a look at four Capital Region districts out of dozens.

In a recent survey, 74 percent of New York State United Teachers members outside of New York City said their districts are not doing any regular testing. That’s unacceptable and must change.

Cost should no longer be a barrier to testing. The federal government announced in midmarch that $335 million would be made available to schools outside New York City specifically for this purpose. That money should be made available to districts immediately, and districts must use their allocations.

We’re at a critical juncture for reopening schools. But we can’t lose sight of the safety measures we need to protect the health of school communities.

Andy Pallotta

Latham President, New York State United

Teachers