LA Catholic schools secure more COVID testing, better masks
The big spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the virus has led some Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles to delay a return to in-person classes.
As of Jan. 14, at least 72% of district Catholic schools had returned to in-person instruction after winter break, according to the Department of Catholic Schools (DCS). The rest had either delayed reopening classrooms or switched to a hybrid schedule due to quarantine protocols for sick or exposed students.
DCS has been working with health officials in the three counties that make up the territory of the archdiocese — Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara — to provide PCR and “rapid” COVID-19 testing to Catholic schools. The district was also set to distribute more than 200,000 N-95 masks to students and staff secured from the LA County Office of Education at no cost.