Rapid COVID tests coming to Massachusetts child care centers, says Charlie Baker

Jan. 20—Child care centers around Massachusetts will soon receive shipments of COVID-19 rapid tests as part of a new "game-changer" program to help keep coronavirus out of classrooms, Gov. Charlie Baker said.

"We expect the rapid test program will be a game-changer for many folks in early education and care, as the vast majority of kids they serve are under the age of 5 and therefore can't be vaccinated at this point in time," Baker said.

These are in addition to the preexisting weekly pooled PCR testing option, which is available for facilities and families that opt-in.

More than 7,700 child care providers are currently eligible for these programs, officials said. The programs are administered by Neighborhood Villages, a nonprofit organization.

The two-pronged testing program will use the 15-minute antigen tests for students and teachers who develop symptoms while attending or providing care. It will also allow students and teachers who are close contacts of a classmate who tests positive to test daily for five consecutive days and allow the child to stay in care as long as the test is negative.

The programs are available for children ages 2 and older, the Baker administration said. The rapid antigen tests are expected to become available to child care centers during the week of Jan. 31.

The program is intended to keep younger kids and teachers in classrooms safely, Early Education and Care Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy said.

"It is more important now than ever that we help keep children in care, learning, playing napping, working with their friends," Aigner-Treworgy said.

Baker on Wednesday also responded to criticism from New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu over a Massachusetts judge's decision to place missing New Hampshire girl Harmony Montgomery with her father and stepmother before officials in that state could complete a study of their home.

"We are cooperating to the fullest extent that we can with the Office of the Child Advocate here in Massachusetts, which is an independent entity," Baker said when asked about the case during a press conference. "We're as interested in knowing the answer to that as everybody else is."

Sununu harshly criticized a Massachusetts court on Tuesday for placing Harmony in the home. She has been missing since 2019.

In a letter to the chief justice of Massachusetts' highest court, Sununu described the father, Adam Montgomery, as a "monster." The father's lengthy criminal record includes a Massachusetts conviction for shooting someone in the head and a separate armed attack on two women, Sununu wrote.

"It is unclear why the Massachusetts courts moved so quickly with this permanent placement prior to the completion of the home study. Why would the Massachusetts court choose to place custody of Harmony with this horrible individual? What caused such a fateful decision?" Sununu wrote.

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