The Rocky Mountain, Boundary, Arrow Lakes and Kootenay Lake school districts will be included in the first wave of schools receiving rapid tests.
Three hundred thousand tests are being delivered in phases. with the first phase being delivered to rural and remote school districts.
“By making rapid tests available to symptomatic students in rural and remote communities, we are using an additional tool to strengthen the continuity of learning,” said Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Education in a press release.
“Since the return to class on Jan. 10, teachers and staff in B.C. have worked diligently to ensure classrooms and schools continue to be safe places and spaces for students to learn. I thank them for the tireless work they do each day to give students every opportunity to achieve their best.”
School districts will then distribute five-pack test kits for families of students in rural areas.
B.C. government officials said it will help families that are farther away from regional testing centres.