Santa Barbara Unified rolls out rapid COVID-19 testing on campus

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — With COVID-19 case spiking throughout the county, the Santa Barbara Unified School District rolled out wide-scale testing on Monday.

Rapid tests were administered to its students and staff throughout the day on 20 campuses around town.

At Santa Barbara High School, classes were assigned a testing time and students went with their teachers to be tested. 

In an all-hands-on-deck safety effort, SBUSD aims to test over 13,000 of its students and staff by the end of the school day on Wednesday.

Late last week, the district also made the decision to suspend all extra-curricular activities. This included field trips, performances and all athletic competitions.

It also brought back an outdoor mask mandate, meaning that everyone must be masked at all times on campus.

With finals week starting today, Santa Barbara Unified School District employees say that these new rules are necessary in order to keep classes on campus and avoid distance learning.