More than 56K at-home COVID-19 testing kits arrive for public school students in Santa Barbara County

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- The State of California delivered 56,700 at-home test kits to the Santa Barbara County Education Office (SBCEO) on Monday. They'll be used for testing of TK-12 public school students.

This delivery, following the delivery to Ventura last week, comes from a program announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom in December to help combat the Omicron surge.

SBCEO said these tests are iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Tests and include two tests per pack, and all kits are free-of-charge.

“We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of our allotment of at-home test kits,” said Dr. Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools. "They provide needed relief to our students and families and are a critical tool for helping our schools mitigate the spread of the virus."

“We greatly appreciate this and any support our schools receive that helps keep our students, staff, and families safe and healthy,” Salcido said.

California ordered 6 million at-home test kits in December to be distributed to school districts, and today Santa Barbara will start delivering these kits to TK-12 public school students.

SBCEO said they are seeking additional tests for private schools, preschools, school employees, as well as future test kit deliveries after this round of distribution is complete.

For more information on Santa Barbara County Public Health and local COVID-19 testing, click here.