The Government’s decision to supply Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) directly to early learning services is welcome but overdue.

“Our ECE members have been scrambling for weeks to ensure young tamariki can keep learning while staying safe from infection in the face of rising Omicron rates in their communities,” Te Rito Maioha Early Childhood NZ Chief Executive Kathy Wolfe says.

“While we’re thrilled that RATs will now be distributed to ECE services for both kaiako and tamariki, having RATs on hand sooner would have kept more tamariki learning, reassured parents and saved stress for kaiako and services managing staff.”

The Government’s decision now means that early learning services can request their own supply of RATs for their centre. The RATS can be used for:

• testing staff who may have or think they have symptoms
• giving to whānau for children who may have or think they symptoms
• voluntary twice weekly asymptomatic testing for staff.

“This will provide welcome reassurance to whānau and kaiako that services are doing all they can to protect our youngest, unvaccinated tamariki and allow them to carry on their vital learning with as little disruption as possible,” Kathy Wolfe says.

“We have encouraged all our members to act promptly, complete the opt-in form and access the RATs as quickly as possible.”

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