Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York will provide every family and staff member with a COVID-19 home test and will distribute tens of thousands of kits in the coming weeks, the Archdiocese of New York announced today.

Test kits have been delivered to all Catholic school communities in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, and school officials are working with Gov. Kathy Hochul's office to work toward distributing tests to all remaining Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York.

Any student or staff member who exhibits COVID-like symptoms or has been in a classroom where a positive test was identified should use the test, the Archdiocese's office says. School staff will reach out to students and families with direction on when and how to use the provided test.

"Our number one focus continues to be offering an excellent academic program in a safe and nurturing environment. These kits will go a long way in ensuring our students and faculty have access to proper testing should it be needed," says Michael J. Deegan, superintendent of schools. "I remain grateful to the principals and teachers who continue to implement our health and safety protocols so we may maintain the same bubble of protection for our students and staff that we created nearly two years ago."

The announcement comes as the city continues to see long lines at testing sites while hospitalizations in New York State rise. Hospitalization numbers reached 10,000 people Tuesday, the highest since March 2020.

The Archdiocese of New York worked with the New York City Test & Trace Corp. to provide testing kits to staff, the archdiocese says, and the Health and Safety Tasks Force of the Office of the Superintendent of Schools will evaluate all new COVID-19 guidance and information about quarantine, isolation, close contacts, testing and the associated timelines for each on an ongoing basis.