Seattle Public Schools announces Monday school closure citing COVID-19 testing effort
Seattle Public Schools has announced that there will be no school Monday, Jan. 3, in order to provide voluntary rapid COVID-19 testing for all staff and students.
The school district reports that it has procured 60,000 rapid antigen tests for staff and students, provided by the Washington State Department of Health.
“In light of the surge in COVID-19 transmission in our community due to the Omicron virus, we’ll be using these tests to support a healthy return to school,” reads an SPS update.
“Our goal in providing wide-scale testing is to minimize the transmission of the Omicron virus and reduce intermittent disruptions to in-person learning,” the district noted. “Because 80% to 90% of positive cases are asymptomatic, identifying them before, and quickly after, classes resume will reduce the spread of the virus in our schools.”
https://mynorthwest.com/3295495/seattle-public-schools-announces-monday-school-closure-citing-covid-19-testing-effort/