Toronto parents set up school rapid-testing program as city reports 11 COVID-19 outbreaks

Some Toronto elementary school parents have built their own rapid testing program from scratch — finding a supplier in the Waterloo region, driving there and back to pick up the kits multiple times a month and spreading the news by word of mouth.

So far this school year, their efforts mean 280 students at Earl Beatty Junior and Senior Public School and some siblings, are participating in the twice-a-week testing regime, completing close to 1,000 tests to date, said founder Sam Kaufman. His eight-year-old son Asa is a student there and taking part.

"The idea of this kind of screening is to catch cases early," Kaufman, a data scientist, told CBC News.

"You may not be able to prevent a classroom from going home, but hopefully you prevent many kids from getting sick and the outbreak getting out of control." 

The tests were donated by the Waterloo Region-based Stay Safe program, which helps businesses and communities scale up rapid testing.

Kaufman say he's frustrated at the Ontario government's refusal to spearhead rapid testing efforts in schools, especially as he sees outbreaks mount. The City of Toronto is reporting 11 schools are currently experiencing outbreaks and a Durham Region school has closed for at least two weeks with students going back to online learning.

"I don't understand why we wouldn't use every tool we have to try to keep COVID out of our schools," he said.