Dr. Chen answers questions in virtual discussion about Peninsula School District COVID-19 testing program
The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department Director Dr. Anthony Chen held a live discussion for Peninsula School District parents and staff via Zoom on Tuesday in which he discussed a planned testing pilot program.
Sporting a virtual background encouraging users to “mask up” with the slogan “protecting is respecting,” Chen gave a presentation then answered questions that were submitted before the meeting. The meeting came hours after it was reported that Washington state officials may lower the threshold for reopening schools.
The pilot program is being rolled out with the hopes of eventually allowing for the staged return of students all the way up to 5th grade through weekly testing at schools. The district announced last week that the planned Nov. 30 return of second graders would be delayed citing concerns over a spike in cases.
Chen stressed the importance of having regular COVID-19 testing in order to “identify positive cases and safely isolate them to minimize further disease spread.” He pointed to colleges and sports teams as a model of what they have in mind, though he acknowledged that “children tend to not show a lot of symptoms.”
Chen said that means they will be “isolating cases quickly and quarantining close contacts” as a “critical strategy of the COVID-19 response” in the pilot.
Chen said the program is meant to help parents, staff who are looking to fulfill the “educational, social, and emotional needs” of children that can’t be fulfilled as well remotely. Chen also acknowledged how staff and parents are “concerned about health and safety” as well as the broader risks to the community.
Multiple goals
Meeting those multiple goals, of ensuring safety and a positive learning environment, is what Chen said it would take to consider the program a success.
“We’ll find out in a few weeks whether this is going to work or not,” Chen said.
Chen said there are two other districts, White River and Eatonville, that are currently also participating in addition to Peninsula. A new detail Chen offered is that the department will be working to “check results to monitor progress” and will also “evaluate the program during the holiday break.”
Chen said the pilot will end in December but couldn’t guarantee a long-term extension of the program after Jan. 1 due to dwindling funds from the CARES Act.
The process of the pilot Chen outlined is similar to how some district schools have already begun in-person learning. Discovery Elementary School has already been in classes for several weeks without the testing program, instead relying on attestation forms and temperature checks. The new addition of this program will involve the teacher walking students to a testing site, where the class will go through the process of testing.
Chen said he “would encourage everyone to participate” and that he wants to have as close to “100 percent participation as possible.” There are forms online on the TPCHD website that both parents and staff must sign before participating.
“The more information we get, the more informed we will be,” Chen said. “We are the first county in the state to be doing this.”
Masks needed, too
Chen did express caution that “you shouldn’t think that testing is going to protect you without additional measures” such as masks and distancing, measures districts will still be following.
In the event someone tests positive, Chen said they should wait at least fourteen days before returning. Close contacts will be contacted by the health department, which will provide guidance about “some combination of quarantine” and testing recommendations.
Chen said the priority is to “break that chain of transmission” and encouraged people who may be contacted by the health department to cooperate in the process of contact tracing.
“We’ve got quite widespread community spread right now,” Chen said, adding that he doesn’t want to see spread from the community get into the school or vice versa.
The district had previously announced at the end of October that the program would be put into place, an announcement the TPCHD said was premature as it wasn’t ready yet.
There will be a kickoff event of the program at Key Peninsula Middle School and Gig Harbor High School from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29 where “PSD students, staff, families, and the general community are welcome to stop by to take a PCR test using a mid turbinate nasal swab.”
Reach Chase Hutchison at chasehutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 11:03 AM.
