The province will be allowing rapid antigen testing for COVID-19 in schools with several caveats.
Ontario's medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, announced today the province will be supporting the distribution of the rapid tests to schools in areas where there is a "high prevalence" of COVID-19 transmission.
Local medical officers of health will decide which schools get the test kits, according to Dr. Moore.
"We are pleased our schools continue to be a safe place to learn," said Moore. "We know we need to remain vigilant and be ready to respond quickly."
In his announcement on Oct. 5, the doctor explained the rapid testing is to help identify and prevent transmission in schools and licensed child care settings where there is high risk of transmission in the community already.
"Routine rapid antigen screening of fully vaccinated individuals and children is not currently recommended given the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines as well as the risks posed to the disruption of learning as a result of false positives," stated a news release from the province.
The COVID-19 rapid antigen screening will be for child care and school-age children who are unvaccinated, asymptomatic, and have not been identified as high-risk contacts.
Testing will be voluntary and will be done at home.
Children who test positive on the rapid test will be asked to seek confirmatory testing at a COVID assessment centre, those who get a negative result would continue in-person learning.
Moore stressed the key defenses against COVID-19 remain masking, cohorting, and daily screening for symptoms, and measures such as rapid testing are 'secondary."
"Targeted asymptomatic screening has the potential to detect cases in schools earlier and reduce the risk of outbreaks and closures, particularly in communities across the province that have a high prevalence of active COVID-19 cases," said Moore.
