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COURIER L 12 IFE, JANUARY 14-20, 2022
Catholic schools
to get take-home
COVID tests
BY ISABEL SONG BEER
As New York City offi
cials work to fi nd solutions
to keep schools
safe and open during
the COVID-19 pandemic,
Catholic schools are
working to do the same.
On Jan. 6, Dr. Thomas
Chadzutko, Superintendent
of Schools for the
Diocese of Brooklyn, announced
that Catholic
schools in Brooklyn and
Queens would be sending
students home with
rapid at-home COVID
tests.
“Catholic schools and
academies throughout
the Diocese of Brooklyn,
which includes
Brooklyn and Queens,
have received a supply
of at-home COVID tests
from New York City and
are awaiting a delivery
from New York State,”
said Chadzutko. “Our
schools will begin distribution
upon further
information from the
Department of Health to
ensure the most effi cient
use of the test kits for
our school families.”
And as the Omicron
variant continues
to spread like wildfi re
throughout the city,
Catholic schools across
the Five Boroughs are
moving to protect their
students and faculty.
With the city entering
another year of the
pandemic, educators
and faculty alike are “all
weary of the COVID-19
pandemic and all the accompanying
impositions
on our personal lives as
well as the requirements
on our schools in order
to remain open safely,
as they have since the
beginning of this pandemic,”
said Michael
J. Deegan, Superintendent
of Schools within
the Archdiocese of New
York, in a statement on
Jan. 2.
“As we have
always done, our
response will
be thoughtful,
intentional and
always made in
the best interest
of all of those
in our school
communities.
Since Nov. 3, 2021,
children ages fi ve to
12 are eligible for the
COVID-19 vaccine,
which both the archdiocese
and diocese are
encouraging parents
to have their children
receive so they may
safely attend in-person
classes.
“The experts of the
Health and Safety Tasks
Force of the Offi ce of
the Superintendent of
Schools are evaluating
all of the new guidance
and information about
quarantine, isolation,
close contacts, testing
and the associated timelines
for each,” said Deegan.
“While we understand
that some want the
policies implemented
overnight, as we have always
done, our response
will be thoughtful, intentional
and always
made in the best interest
of all of those in our
school communities.”
In the interim, Catholic
schools continue
to set up additional infrastructure
to protect
their students and staff
members, following
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) guidelines,
administrators remind
those attending school
in person that their
schools keep everyone
safe.
“We will continue
to require temperature
checks, face coverings,
physical distancing and
enhanced ventilation
processes in all of our
school buildings,” said
Deegan. “We hope our
distribution of tens of
thousands of test kits
will provide some small
measure of comfort in
knowing you will have
these crucial tools in
your home when you are
exposed to COVID.”
For more hyper-local Brooklyn news
on your computer, smartphone, or tablet,
visit BrooklynPaper.com.
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