NDP calls for comprehensive rapid testing for all Ontario schools

QUEEN'S PARK – Ontario NDP Education critic Marit Stiles is calling on the Ford government to immediately implement a comprehensive, rapid testing program for all Ontario schools, to ensure that every student and school in the province is equitably protected from the spread of COVID-19.

"Students return to school next week amid a growing fourth wave of COVID-19," Stiles said. "The Ford government must pull out all the stops to ensure that all students are safe, and that schools stay open – this includes ramping up testing so that every school in Ontario has access to the gold standard of rapid, take-home COVID-19 tests to provide to students.

"This is especially crucial for our students under 12, who aren't yet eligible for vaccination."

Stiles said the government's pilot project to distribute rapid take-home tests to some school boards and to a limited category of students falls short of what's needed to keep schools open across Ontario.

"If we're going to avoid another school year in Ontario full of disruptions and closures, the Ford government must not allow an inequitable, patchwork system where some schools have access to the gold standard of rapid tests and others do not.

"The government must use every tool at its disposal and establish a single program that provides every board in Ontario with the highest quality of rapid, take-home tests for students. We can't afford to wait; all children and youth in this province deserve the very best protection possible."