Catholic schools get COVID test kits

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press 

 Some Catholic institutions in the diocese have received and are using COVID-19 test kits.  

David Perda, superintendent of Catholic schools, said he got free kits for schools in Worcester. He said he informed schools in other towns about that, and about buying kits, leaving it up to them which options to pursue. 

“Over the (Christmas) break I received notification from the state department of education that private schools are eligible to purchase the rapid tests,” at state-negotiated prices ranging from $5 to $26 he said. 

Worcester, however, quallified for free tests since it was among the 102 cities and towns with the highest percentage of families below the federal poverty level. Those communities received free iHealth Labs over-the-counter at-home rapid antigen tests. 

So, Superintendent Perda said, he contacted the City of Worcester Division of Public Health, which gave him about 2,000 kits for Catholic schools in Worcester.  

He picked up the kits at 10 a.m. New Year’s Day at Union Station in Worcester, and brought them to the Chancery, he said. On Monday, school representatives picked them up there. The superintendent said the kits were distributed according to a school’s population.  

He said he did this for schools in Worcester because that is the location of the diocesan schools, which his office directly oversees – St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High and St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary. He also approached the Worcester health division because it’s the one he generally works with, he said. 

 He said he also got kits for Our Lady of the Angels Elementary, Venerini Academy and Notre Dame Academy in Worcester. 

“How they use them in the schools is up to them,” he said. He said it’s nice to have the kits, since they’re expensive and hard to find. 

“I’m very grateful to have the tests,” Meg Kursonis, St. Peter Central Catholic principal, said Monday. She said the school did not previously have test kits. 

She said she gave one to a distraught mother whose child was exposed to the virus. The mother couldn’t find a test to buy and couldn’t get an appointment with the pediatrician’s office until Jan. 17, she said.  

Mrs. Kursonis said she also gave kits to teachers in close contact with family members who tested positive for the virus. 

People worry about bringing the virus into the school, so having tests which show they aren’t infected offers peace of mind, Mrs. Kursonis said.  

Those who test positive for the virus with the rapid test need the more accurate PCR test, which goes to a lab for results, or need to quarantine for five days and be symptom-free for 24 hours in order to return to school, she said. 

While the PCR test is preferred, rapid tests help by giving an initial indication of whether students or staff have the virus, said Michael Clark, head of school at St. Paul Diocesan Junior/Senior High. At pharmacies, tests have been in short supply and been rationed, he said. 

The Southbridge Health Department gave Trinity Catholic Academy there 180 free kits before Christmas break, said Angela Symock, principal.  

She invited the 20 staff to take them home and use them just before returning, she said.  

On New Year’s Eve she emailed the parents of the 119 students, strongly encouraging them to pick up kits on Jan. 2 at the school and test their children before sending them back the next day, she said. She said 25 to 30 families picked up the kits, and a few got them Monday at school. 

“I’m hoping more parents will show interest,” she said. 

Carol LaFalam, human resources director for Catholic Charities Worcester County, said they got several free cases of kits. 

Clients can request kits, and kits will be available for residents of the recovery programs and family shelter, Mrs. LaFalam said. Every two weeks the men living at Crozier House in Worcester and the women living at Catholic Charities Women’s Recovery Program in Leominster get free PCR tests through the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, she said. The rapid tests can be used for them in between as needed, and for residents and staff of Catholic Charities Family Shelter, which did not previously have tests. 

The rapid tests are also for other Catholic Charities employees who have symptoms or are exposed to someone who tested positive, Mrs. LaFalam said. And the “handful” of employees who have an exemption from vaccination are being given four tests to test themselves weekly, she said. After that they will be responsible for getting their own tests weekly, in compliance with a federal requirement for employers of 100 or more people, she said. 

“We’re very thankful” for the kits, Mrs. LaFalam said. “I feel like it’s a game-changer, because we’re able to quarantine people earlier, before they spread it to others in the office.”  

Sheilah H. Dooley, executive director of Pernet Family Health Service in Worcester, said they got 540 free test kits through the state, via the Worcester Together coalition of non-profits, spearheaded by the United Way of Central Massachusetts. Pernet also got 540 free kits from the Worcester County Food Bank and is distributing kits to clients at its food pantry and using kits for staff, so they can safely make home visits, she said. 

PHOTO: CNS photo | Abbott Labs via Reuters
A COVID-19 rapid test card in an undated photograph released by Abbott Labs in Abbott Park, Ill.