MONTREAL — Rapid COVID tests will soon be deployed in some Montreal-area preschools and elementary schools, the health ministry announced Wednesday.
The Panibo tests, which can provide results in as little as 15 minutes, will be administered in classrooms where at least one student has a positive case of COVID-19.
All students will then be tested for COVID-19, regardless of whether they are showing any symptoms. Teachers will not be tested, as they have a higher rate of vaccination coverage.
The tests will be brought to schools in Montreal North, Parc-Extension and Saint-Michel, “where the epidemiological situation is under surveillance due to the vaccination rate of the general population,” according to a press release.
The approach may be adopted in other areas as the epidemiological situation evolves, the release continues.
“This measure is intended to be an additional tool to control the transmission of COVID-19 in schools in order to reduce the risk of outbreaks and to minimize classroom closures.”
