Recently the school was given antigen test kits for students to take home due to the large rise of Covid-19 cases throughout January. This is most likely a result of everyone getting together for the holidays.  These tests are an effective way for students in case of emergency, to quickly be tested since the results are given in 10 to 15 minutes. 

These test kits have been somewhat hard to get for people. The local cities have been giving these test kits out for free during drive-thru events, but people have been hoarding these tests and are illegally selling them on apps such as OfferUp and Craigslist. These prices range from $30 to $50 for a single kit.

“That sucks. There are people out there who actually need those tests. Some people see this pandemic as a way to make a profit and that’s not cool,” senior Joseph Perez said. 

Unfortunately, it is hard to prevent everyone from hoarding these kits to make a profit. The best way to counter this is to give out more tests, making it much easier for everyone to receive one, ultimately lowering the price due to the increased supply in the process. It is important for Ayala to take this rise in cases seriously or else we will run the risk of having to go back to online learning for the last semester of the year. As of right now the cases seem to be leveling off, but the campus must do its part to make sure there is no more spike in cases. 

The only issue with these home kits is that they are not valid testing options that schools or workplaces accept. 

“You would think that they would accept them. But the last time it happened to me, they said they would only accept tests that were from Walgreens or CVS,” said Perez. 

What difference can the school giving out these free home kits make?

“It is important for homes to have these kits for emergencies. When most people are sick, they don’t believe it is COVID so they go out like everything is normal. So they just end up spreading it more,” junior Russel Ng said.

These home kits can also be handy for someone who is not able to be tested quickly due to the lack of  appointments in nearby areas.

“I know we have a couple [of kits] to have just in case our family members need one in the future,” said Ng. In order for the community to battle COVID, everyone needs to make sure that they are not accidentally spreading it to other people. 

“I think it is important for the students to have a home kit. We need to do our best job in order to contain this pandemic. Students and teachers prefer to have in-person school also,” said physics teacher Michael Daugherty-Sanders.