These NC schools got COVID testing kits for students and staff. Will it slow spread?
Seventeen North Carolina school districts and 11 charter schools are getting COVID-19 testing kits to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The state Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that it had it distributed more than 50,000 federally funded rapid antigen tests to schools that applied in a pilot testing program. The tests will be used for students and school staff who have COVID-19 symptoms or who are close contacts of someone who has tested positive.
Schools had to be offering in-person instruction to be eligible. The list selected includes:
▪ Cabarrus County: Cabarrus Charter Academy, Cabarrus County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools
▪ Durham County: Central Park School for Children, Healthy Start Academy
▪ Gaston County: Gaston County Schools
▪ Harnett County: Harnett County Schools
▪ Johnston County: Johnston County Public Schools
▪ Mecklenburg County: Lake Norman Charter, Sugar Creek Charter School, UpROAR Leadership Academy
“This program gives us another tool in our toolkit to slow the spread of COVID-19 across our state and to keep children in the classroom, which we know is vital not only to their academic growth but also to their health and emotional development,” DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.
“We will learn from these pilot schools and plan to expand the program early next year. We are thankful to the local education agencies and local health departments in the pilot program for their partnership in these efforts.”
Post-Christmas spike feared
Health officials hope that the tests will slow the spread of COVID-19 by quickly identifying students and staff who may have the virus, especially after the holiday season. There are concerns that cases could spike after winter break, causing districts around the state to pause in-person instruction during the first part of January.
Schools will use the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen test card, which uses a nasal swab to detect COVID-19 and provides results in 15 minutes without laboratory processing. The swab must be performed by trained personnel.
The testing will take place at more than 200 school-based locations across 17 counties. Parental consent will be required before students can be tested.
The other participants in the pilot program are:
▪ Alamance County: Alamance-Burlington School System
▪ Albemarle County: Northeast Academy for Aerospace and Advanced Technologies
▪ Bladen County: Emereau Bladen Charter School
▪ Buncombe County: Asheville City Schools, Buncombe County Schools, Francine Delany Charter School
▪ Catawba County: Catawba County Schools, Hickory Public Schools, Newton Conover City Schools
▪ Forsyth County: NC Leadership Academy
▪ Lenoir County: Lenoir County Public Schools
▪ Lincoln County: Lincoln Charter School
▪ Madison County: Madison County K-12 Public Schools
▪ Surry County: Elkin City Schools, Mount Airy City Schools, Surry County Schools
▪ Wilson County: Wilson County Schools
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 3:17 PM.
