School divisions still waiting on province to implement rapid testing

School divisions across Saskatchewan continue to wait on the province for directions on what to do with rapid test stockpiles collecting dust.

Nearly a month after saying it was sending roughly 100,000 rapid tests to school divisions across Saskatchewan, the province has made little progress to implement rapid tests.

Education Minister Dustin Duncan said two companies have approached the province to provide third-party testers and more could still come forward, but couldn’t say when the province would be able to allocate workers to schools.

“It’s coming along and we know that there is some interest from some school boards, and others are maybe not interested at this point,” Duncan said Thursday afternoon.

“Keep in mind, there has always been capacity through the existing testing.”

Health Minister Paul Merriman has previously said someone other than school staff had to administer the tests.

Duncan said the Saskatchewan Health Authority has now created a short training video for anyone to learn how to administer rapid tests. Previously, a virtual training seminar was required.

With Saskatoon recently listed as a community where variants of concern are rising a day before household-only gathering restrictions were reintroduced, the city’s two largest school divisions are stuck looking at the more than 20,000 available rapid tests with no way of using them.

Derrick Kunz, a communications consultant with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools, said additional help is needed.

“We simply don’t have the capacity to do that, so we’re waiting for that third party to be assigned,” he said.

Kunz said rapid tests would be used under a “targeted approach” based on recommendations from local health officials.

Spokespersons from Regina’s public and Catholic school systems said they are ready to facilitate the province’s directions to use rapid tests once their remote learning periods are over. That’s currently slated to happen April 26.

“We now have the ability to offer the rapid testing, and have offered that in schools and I think it’s just a part of different plans that have been put in place as we move through the pandemic,” Duncan said.

Duncan said another hurdle — the final details for permission forms and privacy concerns — was being worked on a “couple weeks ago.”

School divisions are still waiting for that information.

“Our experience to this point has been transmission in school has not been a major factor. We know that any of our cases that are involving staff, teachers or students, transmission has really been linked to the community and not in the school setting,” Duncan said, reiterating that existing testing centres have the capacity for all students and staff.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick