RICHMOND, Va. — Nationwide, the demand for COVID-19 testing is skyrocketing.
In the Commonwealth, school divisions have partnered with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) to offer free rapid tests to students, teachers, and staff.
That program started back in April 2021, and the department has another new testing program in the works.
Newport News Public Schools has provided free at-home COVID-19 tests to students since November.
The division’s Health Services Supervisor, Nancy Carlson, said they’ve distributed more than 1,000 of them.
“We are trying to be frugal, though. You know -- a person to use the test kit must either be symptomatic with COVID-like symptoms, or they have to be identified as a close contact of a person who did test positive. So we’re not giving them out just because, ‘I just want to see if I’m positive,’” Carlson said.
“We’ve given away over 1,000 test kits. Initially we had the first shipment of kits that we received in November, and those were the ones that went out to schools before we left on Thanksgiving break, then we started distributing them to families when we came back in December.”
Virginia Beach City Public Schools is also offering tests. Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence said his division was still in talks with the health department.
“We have had tests available. I think we still have a few available, and we’ll learn more as we have that conversation with them,” Spence said.
“If folks are experiencing symptoms, please stay at home and if a test is available, take it," he said. "If we have them available, we’ll make them available as well."
VDH gives free COVID-19 tests to K-12 schools through its ViSSTA program: Virginia School Screening Testing for Assurance.
VDH Deputy Director of the Office of Epidemiology, Dr. Laurie Forlano, said the department provides PCR screenings, testing support and financial support.
“And that program provides weekly screening, testing, to people who have not had an exposure or who are not sick," Forlano said.
“We also have provided diagnostic testing supplies to K-12 schools. We provided over 140,000 proctored test kits to K-12 schools across the commonwealth for the testing of persons with symptoms or those who’ve had known exposure.”
The program is optional. Other public school divisions taking part in Hampton Roads include Suffolk, York County, Williamsburg-James City County, and Portsmouth.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Public Schools gave 13News Now this statement via email:
We have received enough at-home testing kits for about 5% of our school population. Due to the limited number, we are providing testing kits to students/staff who are at school and are symptomatic or who have been exposed to a person who has tested positive. We have a separate branch of tests from the VDH that are currently reserved for unvaccinated students participating in sports and extracurricular activities which need to undergo weekly testing.
A spokesperson for the York County School Division said the division has requested additional tests from VDH, but had not yet received them. The statement said: "Until we receive information regarding what that allotment will be and when we will receive it, we are limited in our ability to distribute at-home tests.”
A Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools spokesperson said the division has been participating in the VDH at-home test kit program since November.
The spokesperson said: "The division received one shipment of test kits before winter break, and one shipment since. We plan to continue program participation. The division is utilizing all resources available, like the VDH at-home test kit program, to keep students in school and protect our community’s health.”
Portsmouth Public Schools is also participating in the program:
All of the COVID-19 tests that we have received as a division have come from the Virginia Department of Health throughout the year. So, all total this year, we have received 1,584 tests. We will continue to work with the health department in providing tests as well as vaccination clinics for students.
Hampton City School and Norfolk City Schools are not participating in the program.
Forlano said the department is also launching a new pilot program called “Test to Stay.”
“It’s a practice that consists of contact tracing and serial or repeat testing that will allow a school associated close contact to continue to attend school during what would have been their quarantine period at home," she explained. “We’ll be doing some financial modeling to determine what level of test kits we can supply.”
The goal is to contain the spread while keeping kids in school.
Forlano said VDH will launch this new pilot program within the next seven to ten days, while continuing to provide test kits to schools that want them.