The North Beach School District has joined other Washington school districts offering voluntary COVID testing in the school setting.

The faster that administrators can determine whether a symptomatic student or staff person tests positive for COVID, the more quickly contact tracing and quarantine efforts can be implemented, and the more effective those efforts will be, according to a school district statement.

The added benefit of in-school testing is that is helps bridge an access gap for families who lack transportation or face other barriers to getting a test, said Superintendent Andrew Kelly.

“This supports our families by preventing unneeded trips to the hospital or health department, because we can manage testing internally,” Kelly said. “It means less time out of school for our students as well.”

The district originally obtained a brand of tests that can be used only by individuals 18 and older, and results were relatively slow in coming — between two and four days. Not satisfied with the limitations of the original test, District Health Nurse Ann Allen set out to find rapid COVID-19 antigen tests that can be administered to both youngsters and adults. The tests she found have been distributed to North Beach schools, along with a protocol for administering and validating them.

Allen said the tests are shallow nasal swabs, which take a sample from just inside the tip of the nose. Students under 18 will not be tested without a call to parents to get their permission first.

During the first week of March, Allen administered 13 tests, all of which were negative. These results are consistent with data from three small Washington state school districts that trialed rapid testing earlier this year, and those from across the country, which indicate COVID cases in schools are rare, ready Kelly’s statement.

Two school districts that were part of the pilot, Eatonville and Peninsula, together recorded only 18 positives out of nearly 5,000 rapid tests. A Jan. 13 report on all three pilot programs, White River School District included, suggests that only .2% of those tested were infected, said the district statement, referencing a Feb. 8 Seattle Times report.

“The small number of positive tests in schools may cause some to question whether in-school testing is a needless expense, however, with more contagious mutations of COVID-19 now circulating, even a small number of positive cases could turn into big problems in a school setting,” read Kelly’s statement. “By implementing rapid on-site testing, North Beach School District is remaining vigilant and keeping its promise to staff and parents to do all it can to protect their health as in-person learning is expanded.”