Beginning March 1, the Hermiston School District will offer access to on-site rapid COVID-19 testing for students and staff showing primary symptoms of the virus while on campus.
Student testing will be opt-in only and require parent or guardian permission. Schools will send opt-in forms home with students. It is also available on the district website.
A recent Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance update outlined the requirement that “when students and staff return to in-person instruction out of alignment with the metrics, schools must offer access to on-site COVID-19 testing for symptomatic students and staff identified on campus as well as those with known exposure to individuals with COVID-19.”
Under the supervision of a school nurse, self-administered COVID-19 testing may be offered to students in two circumstances: if a student develops new primary symptoms of COVID-19 while at school or if a student is exposed to COVID-19 in a school group and the local public health department recommends testing. Tested or not, individuals showing primary symptoms will be excused from campus and asked to follow the necessary quarantine practices.
District officials said a critical factor for the district to consider in returning to in-person instruction is its ability to implement public health and safety protocols throughout the district with fidelity. Those protocols include requirements around the universal use of face coverings, physical distancing, cohorting, and frequent handwashing, along with many requirements to mitigate the spread of the virus. District officials said they put these expectations in place immediately as students returned to campus.
“The health and safety of our students and staff are our primary goal,” said Superintendent of School Dr. Tricia Mooney. “With declining Hermiston ZIP code case counts, we are able to expand our in-person instruction, but we can only achieve this with everyone continuing to do their part for the safety of our community and students.”
