No Way Kids Can Go Back With Testing Like This, Says RI Mom of 9-Year-Old Awaiting Results

No Way Kids Can Go Back With Testing Like This, Says RI Mom of 9-Year-Old Awaiting Results

A Rhode Island mother of a 9-year-old girl who was tested for coronavirus early in the week and is still awaiting results said there is “no way” in her mind that kids can return to school in the fall “with testing like this.”

Barrington resident Kate Sander said her daughter was tested on Monday — and after being told the results would take three to five days, she was then informed the results will likely now be 6-7 days.

“She’s doing OK,” said Sander of her daughter, who she says her symptoms also included headache and eye pain. “She got sick on Sunday. We were in Little Compton at my parents' house — they’re 75 and 76. She asked for a blanket on the couch, and when I touched her forehead, she was burning up.”

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Sander took her daughter on Monday to their pediatrician, and her youngest daughter has now been in isolation at home all week. 

“It’s crazy we can’t get results back,” said Sander. “What’s going to happen in the fall? We’re going to isolate children like this? That’s not OK. Have the whole class in quarantine for 14 days?”

Waiting for Results

Sander said she took her daughter to their family doctor at Anchor Pediatrics in Lincoln, where they have a respiratory clinic for testing. 

“We love them there,” said Sander. 

On Thursday, frustrated at the lack of test results, Sander said she called the Department of Health, where she was told her daughter’s test entry “had not even been entered into their database yet.”

She said the Department of Health told her to call East Side Labs. 

“The girl there said their phone was ringing off the hook, and they had 9,000 tests,” she said. “She told me not to expect a result until Saturday or Sunday."

Frustrated, Sander called the Governor Gina Raimondo’s office. 

“[Raimondo] hasn’t even addressed this problem, with kids supposedly going back to school,” said Sander.

After being told the Governor was unavailable, Sander said she was going to leave a message, but felt the Governor’s staff member “was unsympathetic.” 

"I hung up," she said. 

Schools in Question

Raimondo said in early June that schools in Rhode Island will reopen on August 31. 

On Friday, however, Raimondo — along with Department of Health Director Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott and Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, warned it won’t be an “all or nothing” approach. 

“Every step of the way, our state’s response to COVID-19 has been driven by science. We have rejected the false choice of an all-or-nothing approach and taken targeted, data-driven steps to keep Rhode Islanders safe," said the three officials in a joint statement.  

"As we look toward reopening schools, we will continue to put public health first and to rely on facts and science in making the best decisions for the mental, physical, and intellectual needs of our students," the continued. 

“In my mind, the Commissioner has to come out with a decision for everybody,” said Sander. “I got an email that said please let us know if you want online or in person learning — in my mind, I have a lot of concerns.”

“I don’t think it’s the families that should be making the decision. Make the decision about the virus based on science,” said Sander. “There doesn’t seem to be any leadership."