OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — Oakland public school officials said the district’s push for COVID testing during winter break helped save countless students and staff members from being exposed to the highly contagious virus.

Just days before students returned to their classrooms Monday, 21,000 students and staff members took at-home COVID tests provided by the Oakland Unified School District.

The results were uploaded into OUSD’s database, revealing just how far the omicron variant had swept through communities over the holidays.

Nearly 500 students and staff members tested positive for COVID between Dec. 31-Jan. 3 using the at-home tests, according to the database. Most of the positive cases, 396, were among students.

OUSD had distributed 41,000 home tests to families just before winter break, and about half of the families reported their test results back to the district.

The district also set up clinics for on-site testing during winter break, and added a special testing clinic at Fremont High School on Sunday.

On Sunday alone, 525 people were tested, and 74 were positive for COVID.

With hundreds of COVID-positive students and teachers staying home to rest and recover this week, the district protected thousands more who would have been exposed in classrooms.

“OUSD would like to thank the entire Oakland community for taking the need to test seriously and for staying home when they are symptomatic,” district officials wrote.

“Although we know the omicron variant is spreading across the country, we are pleased to see this testing regimen work the way we hoped it would, keeping sick people at home,” superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said Tuesday.

When the district combined the total number of cases identified by home tests, on-site clinic tests, and other sources, officials determined that nearly 1,000 students and staff members were infected with COVID within the four days leading up to schools reopening.

“The high number of tests taken and results reported show that people in our community are looking out for their health and the health of everyone around them,” Johnson-Trammell said.

Like many districts, OUSD had a high number of staff absences on Monday, many of which were related to COVID. In total, 269 teachers were reported as absent. The district was prepared for a large number of absences and responded with substitutes.

The superintendent emphasized that vaccines and boosters are the keys to moving on from the pandemic.

“I want to personally thank all our students, staff, and family members who have gotten the vaccine, and those who have gotten boosted. I wish a speedy recovery to everyone in our community currently dealing with COVID,” Johnson-Trammell said.