ERIE (Erie News Now) – An increasing number of school districts are turning to testing to keep more children in the classroom and avoid disrupting the work lives of their parents, it’s a new approached called test and stay and it’s all about giving students a covid test who were in close contact with a positive case.
Erie News Now Contributor, Dr. Becky Dawson informs Erie News Now about what the test and stay approach for schools could be.
“So they could stay in school, continue to test at a regular frequency, and only then be sent home if they would test positive,” says Dr. Dawson.
She says it would allow students who have been exposed to the virus to stay in schools as long as they take frequent covid tests and they are negative.
But Dr. Dawson says there are still a few things that need to be figured out before this approach can take place.
“We don’t know if it works and that it will slow the spread of disease,” says Dr. Dawson. “The labor intensiveness of it, how frequently do students need to be tested, what type of test should be used, where do the schools get them, who pays for them, who administers them.”
The CDC is saying at this time they don’t recommend a test to stay program saying kids who have been exposed can pose a potential transmission risk and instead say it’s best to be safe and quarantine.
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