The Portage la Prairie School Division announced at their school board meeting this past Tuesday that all staff that are unvaccinated must provide a negative COVID test to enter any of their schools as of Monday.

Todd Cuddington, superintendent of the Portage School Division, says the idea was kickstarted by the province informing them that any close contact would have to undergo rapid testing. He notes a very surprising number of students and staff are already double-vaccinated.

"We've found that over 96 per cent of school division staff are double vaxxed, so we were pleased with that number," explains Cuddington. "Some people chose to keep that information private, which is their right, and others disclosed that they chose testing."

He says the process will require two tests at home, and they have hired a supervisor who will conduct them. Cuddington mentions they have around 615 employees, and he doesn't foresee any issues with the plans they've set in motion.

"People who were vaccinated, they chose to get their second shot done to avoid testing," says Cuddington. "There are others that don't feel comfortable with the vaccination and have made the accommodations for testing."

He notes, in closing, the number of staff choosing to go toward testing as opposed to getting vaccinated is low, but he respects their decision and doesn't believe it will be hard to manage.