Norwich schools to begin rapid COVID-19 testing program
Norwich — Norwich Public Schools this coming week will begin offering free rapid-results testing in four city schools for students and staff with COVID-19 symptoms, part of a state pilot program.
The Connecticut National Guard on Thursday delivered 2,000 of the Abbott's BinaxNOW tests to be used at the Samuel Huntington, John B. Stanton and Moriarty Environmental Sciences Magnet elementary schools and the Kelly Middle School. The schools were chosen based on their size, COVID-19 infection rates and symptom rates, Superintendent Kristen Stringfellow said Friday.
Students and staff from other city schools cannot come to the pilot schools for testing, but the district plans to roll out testing to all schools if the pilot program is successful, Stringfellow said.
Students and staff are not required to test, and a signed consent form is needed to test an individual.
Stringfellow volunteered the Norwich school district to participate in the state program. She called it a “free and convenient way for students and staff who become symptomatic at school to be tested on their way home to quarantine and rest.”
She believes it will save families and staff the trouble of waiting in lines and making appointments and will speed up internal contact tracing when a person tests positive.
Abbott says its BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card is a rapid, reliable, highly portable and affordable tool for detecting active coronavirus infections. The test is performed on site and delivers results in just 15 minutes, the company says, adding that quick results for a symptomatic person lead to quicker contact tracing and quarantine to help control the spread of COVID-19.
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