Gov. Hochul Receives Millions of Test Kits to Ensure NY Public Schools Stay Open

By Yehudit Garmaise

“My view is that every child should be in school, unless they are testing positive,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has already ensured that 5.2 million COVID test kits have been delivered statewide to public schools “for the expressed purpose of keeping kids in school.”

In addition, on Friday, 3.7 million more test kits were delivered in a plane that flew into JFK International Airport. 

“So, the state has what they need to keep the schools open,” said Gov. Hochul, whose 

Test-to-Stay in School plan ensures that children, teachers, and staff who have been exposed to anyone that have tested positive, can go home, and if they test negative, they can come right back the next day, and then test again later in the week to ensure that they have not been infected with COVID.

“The best place for the quality of education is in a classroom,” Gov. Hochul said. “For kids, part of their health is their emotional health, and that emotional health took a huge hit.

“We don’t need any more studies to see that: you can see it in the eyes of the parents, who say, ‘My child is not the same as they were before the pandemic after a year of isolation, detachment, not real learning.”  

The state of New York is distributing, via children’s backpacks, the millions of test kits that will ensure that public school children can stay in school in 2022.

“We will do our part,” the governor said. “Parents, thank you for getting your kids vaccinated, keeping them masked, and teachers, G-d bless you for showing up, making sure you are vaccinated and safe, keeping kids’ masks on.

“We will make sure you have the resources and support you need.” 

As Gov. Hochul looked ahead to 2023, she looked forward to an easier year: one without the need for tests and masks.

“I am not saying the pandemic is going to go away, but how we are managing it is the key thing,” she said. “We are protecting the people’s health, protecting the educational opportunities for our kids, we are protecting our businesses, and we are doing it in a smart way.”

Photo by: Flickr