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QUINCY, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Mass. Teachers Association is calling for schools across the state to be closed on Monday after a delay in the arrival of hundreds of thousands of COVID tests.
School districts across the Commonwealth were expecting 200,000 test kits from the state to start rolling out on Friday, but a national shortage has pushed the arrival date back to sometime this weekend.
MTA President Merrie Najimy said in a statement early Friday that schools should be closed on Monday except for COVID testing staff, to take stock of how many COVID cases the school staffs are dealing with.
"If there were a blizzard on Sunday evening, nobody would question the wisdom of declaring Monday a snow day...it is fair to say that the health and safety risks we face from COVID-19 far surpass those presented by a nor’easter," she said.
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced the tests on Wednesday, and the MTA slammed DESE for not giving schools more warning. The department is encouraging, but not requiring testing, and Gov. Charlie Baker said there were no plans to increase the state's flexibility on remote learning yesterday.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) has more:
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