School District 211 Now Providing Rapid COVID-19 Testing

Press release from the Township High School District 211:

District 211 is proud to participate in the Illinois Department of Public Health’s (IDPH) Rapid Point-of-Care (POC) testing program for COVID-19, under which schools can use test kits as one measure of response to suspected COVID-19 cases among students and staff members.

All District 211 school nurses, certified nursing assistants, and athletic trainers are trained to use the Rapid POC BinaxNow COVID-19 Antigen test which offers a simple and safe way to determine a patient’s status through the collection of a nasal swab specimen. Test results are available in 15 minutes.

The District will make the BinaxNow COVID-19 test kits available in the event a student or staff member displays symptoms while at school. It is important to note that the District is not operating a quasi-health clinic for symptomatic individuals to seek testing. Rather, following established health and safety protocols, symptomatic students and staff members would preemptively stay at home following completion of the District’s Daily Wellness Screening Survey.

In the event that a school determines COVID-19 testing is appropriate for a student, a parent will be contacted and must provide consent prior to a test being administered. The District will also use the Rapid POC tests in the event of exposure between members of groups such as athletic teams, classroom sets, and workplace departments. Additionally, the District may recognize other case-by-case scenarios in which using the Rapid POC test is beneficial.

Parents with questions about the District’s COVID-19 testing program should contact the school nurse at their child’s school.

This press release was produced by the Township High School District 211. The views expressed here are the author’s own.