Coronavirus Update, March 18, 2021

New York State schools will be receiving $335 million dollars in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The money will be spent to increase COVID testing in schools.  

Right now, only about 57 out of 700 school districts in the state conduct testing for students or staff, according to NYSUT, the New York State United Teachers union.  

The Biden Administration is also sending $9 billion dollars to the state so that school districts can enact other virus mitigation strategies to get students back into the classroom, the Albany Times-Union reports.   

Biden has set a goal of getting the majority of U.S. schools open for 5-day a week in-person learning by April 30.