PRSD COVID Testing Changes
COVID Testing changes in PRSD to At-Home testing the week of 1/31
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department (DPH) of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released a joint memo strongly recommending schools to move to a "at-home" testing protocol while also continuing symptomatic testing (a student who goes to the nurse because they are not feeling well might get tested in the nurse's office). PRSD is going to move forward with this new testing protocol.
Here is a 5 minute video from Dr. B. that goes over the details about this shift to at-home testing (the memo is a good place for details, and this gives a PRSD overview).
To participate, you MUST complete this "OPT-IN FORM."
Summary of what you need to know:
- This is optional.
- If your student or a staff member wants to participate in this, you MUST complete this "OPT-IN FORM."
- Participants will receive a test kit every other week that has 2 tests. PRSD recommends that the participant take the test Wednesday evening each week... 1 test per week.
- If the test is positive, there will be an online form for the participant to complete which will go to the school, and the school will notify that participant of their return to school date.
- We will start this program, at the earliest, on Monday, January 31st.
- You will receive more information from your respective school.
- "Test and Stay" as well as contact tracing will end as soon as this program begins.
- Symptomatic testing will continue.
- As always - if someone is sick, they should stay at home.
Two important PRSD data points on the testing protocol so far for 2021-2022:
PRSD has issued 3,183 "test and stay" tests. Of those, 28 were positive resulting in a positivity rate of 0.87%... far below the state average of 2%.
PRSD has issued 292 “symptomatic tests.” Of those, 39 were positive resulting in a positivity rate of 13.4%. We will continue to do symptomatic testing.