Peninsula Schools Begin COVID-19 Testing Pilot: How It Works

GIG HARBOR, WA — The Peninsula School District has become part of a $7.8 million COVID-19 pilot program that, if successful, could impact which students can return to classrooms all across Pierce County.

Right now, the pilot program is only running in Peninsula, White River and Eatonville School Districts, and while students who are learning entirely remotely can participate, the focus is on students and staff who are already back in the classroom. For Peninsula School District, that's around 2,000 staff members and students, representing the district's kindergarten classes and special needs programs.

The idea behind the program is simple: test students frequently, with rapid response testing kits, and use the results to isolate and contain any potential outbreaks before they happen. But if it works, it could open the doors to bring all sorts of students back to the classroom and protect them against potential exposures, according to the health district.

"The idea of this type of testing should look familiar. You see college and professional sports teams use it to identify positive cases and safely isolate them to minimize disease spread," writes the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department. "We're bringing this same opportunity to our schools."

Here's a slightly more in-depth breakdown of how the program is working for Peninsula School District Students right now:

• Beginning Monday, any student or staff member who has turned in a consent form to receiving testing, will be tested on a weekly basis using a rapid antigen test. Like standard tests, rapid antigen tests are performed via nasal swab, but they deliver their results in 15 minutes and have a 98.5 percent accuracy rate on negative tests.
• If a student or staff member tests positive, they take a more traditional PCR test to confirm the positive result. The PCR test would deliver results within a few days. The district says positive results often return within 48 hours.
• After a positive test result, the student or staff member must self-isolate, and close contacts are placed under quarantine.

It's worth noting that the program is entirely voluntary, though Peninsula School District assistant superintendent Dan Gregory told KOMO News that they believe more than half the student body has signed up to participate.

The pilot will continue through December, and once the holiday break rolls around the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department will evaluate the results. If it works, they say it could determine how schools across the county move forward, potentially allowing more students back into the classroom:

"This strategy gives school and public health officials more data to consider when deciding when and how students and staff can resume in-person learning. We will use this data to help keep students and staff safe

Beating COVID-19 requires a strong game plan. Adding school-based testing to the playbook with other protocols like mask wearing, physical distancing, hand washing, and sanitizing gives us a chance to compete and win against the disease."

Find more information on how the School-Based Testing Pilot, as well as answers to some frequently asked questions at the Tacoma - Pierce County Health Department.