Barnstable Schools To Participate In State At-Home Test Program
BARNSTABLE, MA — Barnstable Public Schools will participate in the state's new at-home COVID-19 testing program, the district said Monday.
Beginning the week of Jan. 31, the district will distribute a kit every two weeks to participating students and staff.
"Each kit contains two individual tests," Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown said in a statement. "Your student will administer one test each week on Wednesday."
The program is optional and requires parents to opt-in. Families should sign up via the online form by Tuesday if they want to participate, so the district can request the right number of tests.
The Test & Stay program and individualized contact tracing will both be discontinued once the program begins. Close contacts will no longer have to quarantine.
Instead, students that opt in will be required to report positive test results to the school nurse's office. Those that test positive will be required to isolate at home for a minimum of five days from the day of the test, and may return on day six if they have no symptoms or if their symptoms have significantly improved.
The test is the iHealth 15-minute at-home FDA-approved rapid antigen test. Those who opt-in to the program should test weekly, regardless of vaccination status or whether they are experiencing symptoms.
This article originally appeared on the Barnstable-Hyannis Patch
