Hamilton public school board opens asymptomatic testing clinics to all students and staff
By Kate McCullough, Hamilton Spectator, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Hamilton’s public board is now offering voluntary asymptomatic COVID-19 testing to all students and staff across the system.
A drop-in clinic at Glendale Secondary School in east Hamilton on Wednesday will be open to staff and students from all Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) schools.
“This is the first clinic … that includes the entire district,” said HWDSB spokesperson Shawn McKillop in an email to The Spectator. “As long as we’re in remote learning, we will continue to promote at the system level.”
Previously, asymptomatic testing was offered only to students at staff at the host high school and feeder elementary schools. The HWDSB will return to the “hub” model if in-person learning resumes, McKillop said.
He said the HWDSB has opened up testing to all students and staff to increase opportunities for people to get tested while schools are remote. LifeLabs, the testing provider, “is equipped to take on this approach,” he said.
The next HWDSB-wide clinic is scheduled for May 17 at Nora Frances Henderson Secondary School, near the corner of Rymal Road East and Upper Sherman Avenue on the Mountain.
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board is hosting a two-day asymptomatic testing clinic on May 14 and 15 at Cathedral High School in central Hamilton. The clinic will be open to students and staff at Cathedral and its feeder schools.
Since the program began earlier this year, testing uptake at Hamilton schools has been low. From mid-February to mid-April, less than three per cent of eligible students and staff have volunteered for asymptomatic testing.
In the same period, school boards conducted approximately 2,300 tests — approximately 1,462 at the public board and 832 at the Catholic board — resulting in 11 positive cases.
Updated on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.