DAVIS COUNTY, Utah, Nov. 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Davis School District has set up a rapid testing site for those students and staff members who are quarantining.
The federally funded Abbott BinaxNow rapid antigen tests will be administered by school nurses at the Freeport Center in Clearfield, said a news release from the school district. Results can be seen within 15 minutes without the use of laboratory equipment.
A negative rapid test allows a return to the classroom before the regular 14-day quarantine, the news release said. A positive test will be verified with another polymerise chain reaction, better known as PCR test. That test typically takes 48-72 hours for lab confirmation.
“This benefits our families and our students,” Assistant Superintendent John Zurbuchen said. “It provides an opportunity for kids and teachers to not be out for 14 days if in fact they are negative. Seven days is the earliest we can test and be confident in the test that they are not infected with COVID-19.”
The rapid test protocol is for mask to mask exposures and only applies to school exposures. It does not apply if the quarantined individual or person who tested positive was not wearing a mask.
Students and staff members who qualify for the rapid test will receive instructions, in their quarantine letter, including the date they qualify for the test, the news release said.
In an earlier announcement, Utah State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson said the Low Risk Test and Return guidance was approved by the Utah Department of Health and Utah Governor Gary Herbert.
“The medical experts on the advisory group indicate that this aligns with the best medical practice of adjusting the intensity of intervention based on risk and consequences of overprescribing an intervention,” she said.
