Four on-campus COVID-19 testing sites will launch within the San Marcos Unified School District next week.
The test sites will be open at the following locations: Mission Hills High School, San Marcos High School, La Mirada Academy and the SMUSD Office.
“Our team has been working extremely hard to get these testing locations operational beginning next week,” SMUSD Superintendent Dr. Andy Johnsen wrote in an email to NBC 7. “We realize testing is a key piece in the fight against COVID and the right thing to do for our staff, students and families.”
Before the district’s announcement about the four test sites, Brittney Garcia, a mother of a 9-year-old in the district who is too young to be vaccinated, spoke with NBC 7 about the lack of testing at school sites.
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She said lack of access made it difficult for her to get her child back on campus after being quarantined. She said she has spent money and time testing her child, who has been quarantined twice due to COVID cases at her school.
“I think this should have been sorted out before school started. Cases are skyrocketing, kids are getting sick," she said.
County data shows a rise in COVID cases among children, and school staff, coinciding with the start of the new school year. Right now, only kids 12 and older are eligible for the vaccine.
According to county data, 68% of children 12 to 17 years old have been vaccinated.
