L.A. Public Schools to Require Weekly COVID Tests for Staff, Students — Vaccinated or Not

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will require weekly tests for the coronavirus when staff and students return to school in mid-August, regardless of vaccination status, according to a notice published on Thursday.

The LAUSD said:

We believe Los Angeles Unified has the highest COVID safety standards of any public school district in the nation. Our preparations for the start of the new school year include continuing to require masking for all students, staff, and visitors; maximizing physical distancing as much as possible; continuing comprehensive sanitizing efforts, including frequent hand washing; upgraded air filtration systems; regular, ongoing COVID testing and community engagement; and collaborating with health partners and agencies to support free COVID vaccination.

All students and employees, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, returning for in-person instruction must participate in baseline and ongoing weekly COVID testing. This is in accordance with the most recent guidance from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Baseline testing begins on Monday, August 2.

Ultimately, the greatest protection against COVID and the Delta variant is vaccination. We encourage everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated.

The local teachers’ union, United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA), was among the more notorious holdouts against schools reopening this past spring, amid demands to defund school police to provide more health funding.

When Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders reached a deal on funding to help reopen schools, the UTLA accused him of “propagating structural racism,” on the argument that minorities were more vulnerable to COVID and therefore opening schools in minority neighborhoods would expose those communities to additional risk.

In the spring, students were required to be tested for coronavirus once before returning, but not again thereafter. The students were required to wear masks at school, a requirement that will continue, even during outdoor activity.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.