By Scott Thomas
Austin SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ could test more students for COVID-19 via a new method where students from the same class put their swabs into one testing vial.
Why it matters: This new approach — called pooled testing — could allow Austin SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to target campuses where students are testing positive more frequently and help slow the spread.
- If a test comes back positive, we’ll know which classroom it came from, and will test individual students from there.
Yes, but: Because we’re testing more students, this could lead to more positive results in Austin SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ initially.
What’s next: Austin SA¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ will begin piloting this new testing approach to learn how well it works at Ridgetop Elementary on Oct. 19.
- Parents have been notified and students will only get a test if their family gave consent.