Superintendent’s Office
January 14, 2021
Health and Seniors Care Minister Heather Stefanson and Education Minister Cliff Cullen have announced that Hanover School Division has been selected to participate in the Fast Pass Pilot Program. View the provincial news release.
Fast Pass Testing Centre Pilot Program
Manitoba Education has been working with the Government of Manitoba COVID-19 Testing Task Force to implement Fast Pass testing for members of the educational community. The Fast Pass Pilot offers dedicated appointment-based rapid testing for teachers and educational support staff (including those who work in child care centres in schools) with a goal to provide test results within one day. This strategy supports keeping schools safe and open through timely notification of close contacts. A dedicated testing stream will provide the education system with timely access to COVID-19 test results, even if the broader system becomes taxed. Faster test results will allow the system to quickly identify any cases of COVID-19, enabling faster contact tracing and helping to reduce spread in schools and communities.
The first Fast Pass site launches on Jan. 18 at 1066 Nairn Ave. in Winnipeg and will initially be open to staff working in schools from the Winnipeg, Seven Oaks, River East Transcona, Seine River, and Hanover school divisions. Staff from other schools and school divisions can access the site in February, with further details to follow.
Eligibility & Testing
Teachers, educational support staff and other staff working in schools and directly with students, including bus drivers, custodians and child care staff working in school-based early learning and child care facilities, are eligible for Fast Pass site appointments. Eligible clients must be symptomatic, identified as a close contact as a result of exposure at school, or have a symptomatic household member. Clients will be required to show identification and proof of their employer at the time of appointment.
If you have an employee ID tag issued by Hanover School Division or the SRSS, this will suffice for employment verification. HSD will be producing employee ID tags for those who do not yet have one. In the meantime, if you require COVID-19 testing but do not have an ID tag, please contact Maria Golke at the HSD Administration Office (204-326-6471 or mgolke@hsd.ca). An employment verification letter will be sent to your HSD email address. You can print the verification letter and bring it to your appointment. The electronic version will also be accepted.
Fast Pass appointments must be made ahead of time by phoning the general appointment line, which will triage eligible clients to the Fast Pass site. Appointment bookings for this site will be available starting Jan. 17.
The site will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily starting Jan. 18, and will operate in tandem with the drive-thru testing site at the same location with a dedicated entrance and appointment stream for Fast Pass clients.
Clients will be able to access a positive test result online on the same day they were tested. As with a regular test, individuals and their households must continue to self-isolate while awaiting their results. During the pilot phase, some individuals may experience longer wait times to access a result as testing processes are established. Clients will be provided with instructions on what to expect when they arrive for their appointment.
Respectfully,
Shelley Amos, Interim Superintendent/CEO
Hanover School Division