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Three local school districts participating in coronavirus rapid testing pilot program

Three central North Carolina school districts were selected to participate in the pilot program of COVID-19 rapid testing in K-12 Public Schools.
Posted 2020-12-11T21:57:09+00:00 - Updated 2020-12-11T21:57:09+00:00
Coronavirus and the classroom

Three central North Carolina school districts were selected to participate in the pilot program of COVID-19 rapid testing in K-12 public schools.

Harnett, Johnston and Wilson county school districts were included in a list released on Friday. School districts and charter schools from 17 counties were chosen for Phase 1 of the program.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said rapid tests could be delivered to pilot sites as soon as Dec. 14. The sites will receive federally-funded, rapid antigen tests for students and staff with coronavirus symptoms or those who were in close contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense announced an initiative to deliver 150 million rapid tests to schools and other targeted environments across the county.

From this initiative, North Carolina will receive 3.1 million tests to use in priority settings, such as school districts and charter schools.

“Having rapid tests available in our schools in another important tool to both slow the spread of the virus and keep our children in the classroom. With increased community spread, these tests add to the other safety protocols in place at K-12 schools to protect our students, teachers and staff,” said Dr. Mandy K. Cohen, North Carolina secretary of Health and Human Services.

In order to qualify for the program, school systems had to provide some in-person instruction, including full, in-person instruction or hybrid-instruction.

All three school districts are in counties that have 'critical' community spread of the coronavirus, according to the state's COVID-19 County Alert System.

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