‘Game-changer’: Johnson County schools to get thousands of saliva COVID-19 tests
Johnson County is purchasing thousands of COVID-19 saliva tests for schools to use as many students return to classrooms next week, said Sanmi Areola, county public health director.
During a virtual town hall meeting hosted by the Shawnee Mission school district on Wednesday, Areola announced the plan and said within the next couple of weeks, students, teachers and staff could start getting tested.
Areola said that increasing testing is critical to mitigating the spread of coronavirus and keeping schools open. He said districts can test students and staff in elementary schools — many of which open next week — along with those participating in sports and activities, for example.
“This is really exciting for us,” Shawnee Mission Superintendent Mike Fulton said Wednesday. “Without a robust testing strategy, it will be extraordinarily difficult for us to to make the kind of decisions that we need to make that allow us to do our very best to be a partner in stopping the transmission of COVID-19, in our schools and in our community.”
“This is a game-changer,” he said.
Last Thursday, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate $200,000 for the saliva tests through Clinical Reference Laboratory in Lenexa. Areola said that could buy up to 2,500 tests to start, but the county is working with the vendor to purchase thousands more tests.
The University of Kansas used saliva tests on all faculty, staff and students at the start of the school year in August, a method officials described as less invasive than the “put a stick up the nose” test.
“I’ve been really amazed with how KU did this. I think this is a way to keep our elementary schools going,” Commissioner Becky Fast said at the meeting.
Most Johnson County districts begin the school year next week. The Shawnee Mission district will start with all students learning online, but officials have said they are studying ways to bring some students back soon.
Blue Valley and Olathe will require older students to learn online, but elementary students will return to in-person classes part time. Experts say younger students are less likely to get and transmit the virus but are more in need of in-person instruction.
De Soto will have all grades in classrooms part time. Spring Hill and Gardner-Edgerton will have elementary school students in classrooms, unless their families opted for online classes. Older students will take classes online.
With coronavirus cases continuing to rise in Johnson County, health officials have warned against districts fully reopening schools. Last week, the county reported 815 new cases, or on average, 116 new infections each day.
The positivity rate — which is the average percentage of positive COVID-19 tests over a 14-day period — was 11.4% on Wednesday. Both of those metrics put the county in the “red zone,” meaning officials recommend that older students learn online.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Johnson County reported 8,362 coronavirus cases, and 118 people have died from the virus.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 1:35 PM.
