Nandita Bhose

(Reuters) – The Biden administration announced on Wednesday a new set of measures to keep schools open, including increasing access to COVID-19 tests, as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads rapidly through the United States https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11.

The United States reported 1.35 million new coronavirus infections on Monday https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reports-least-11-mln-covid-cases-day-shattering-global-record-2022-01-11, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country in the world. According to the CDC, Omicron was responsible for 98.3% total coronavirus infections in the United States as of January 8.

The White House and top health officials on Tuesday defended https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-says-americans-should-be-able-order-free-covid-tests-later-this-2022-01-10 the government’s response to the surge in cases and hospitalizations.

A massive wave of infectious diseases has caused Americans to delay traveling and close entertainment venues. It has also disrupted plans to allow teachers and students to return to school, as well as for workers returning to work.

Biden Administration has said that it would increase COVID-19 testing availability to schools by 10,000,000 per monthly, after being accused of over-focusing on vaccines in the past weeks. According to estimates, this will double the amount of testing schools receive compared with November 2021.

To help schools in kindergarten-12th grade (K-12), five million quick tests will be given each month. The administration will also make available lab resources to enable schools to run five million PCR tests per month.

These are the steps taken by some schools districts to return to online classes to avoid the Omicron wave.

The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention will also work with states that request additional tests for school districts, and the first deliveries will be made later this month, the administration said.

Federal agencies also have other measures, such as connecting K-12 districts to testing providers, and providing reimbursement for schools who set up testing and diagnostic programs.

According to the administration, 96% of schools are now able open in-person classes. This is an increase from 46% in January 2021.

Separately, The White House committed to making 500 million COVID-19 test results available to Americans in January. They also said that Americans should be able order these tests later in the month through a federal website.