COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has issued an executive order that will allow public schools in the state to start rapid coronavirus testing of students and staff.
The directive, issued Wednesday, allows the state's health agency, DHEC, to work with South Carolina schools to implement the program.
The governor announced the idea last week, and said then and again Wednesday that his goal is to get kids back in school five days a week. The kits will start being distributed to schools next week.
“Right now, too many South Carolina parents are having to choose between their jobs and their children because they aren’t being given an option to send their children to school for in-person instruction,” said Gov. Henry McMaster. “School districts throughout our state have shown that we can safely educate our children in the classroom, and these tests will give students, teachers, and faculty members another layer of defense against the COVID-19 virus.”
The tests will be optional and parents or guardians will have to sign a consent form. DHEC said the goal is to test students who are already symptomatic, since the test kits being used are better at determining a positive case for those who are already showing signs of illness.
The BinaxNow tests can deliver results in 15 minutes.
The tests will be administered by a school nurse, or in schools where there is no nurse, an athletic trainer.
The State Department of Education told News19 they’ll be directly involved with the distribution and monitoring of the test kits.
Here are a list of frequently asked questions issued by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Antigens are proteins that are found on the surface of a virus and are unique to that virus. These rapid antigen tests detect the presence of these antigens from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in individuals suspected of COVID-19 by their healthcare provider within the first seven days of symptom onset. They are a diagnostic test authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that doesn’t require any large laboratory instrumentation to test the samples and instead determines a COVID-19 negative or positive result using a test card containing a very small amount of liquid solution and a nasal swab. Results are able to be provided within about 15 minutes.
Trained staff collect a pain-free shallow nose swab (called an “anterior nares” swab) from the individual and the specimen is tested by inserting it into the card.
A school nurse (RN or LPN) or athletic trainer who has been trained to administer and supervise the rapid test will perform the test.
School nurses or athletic trainers will screen students who present with symptoms to determine if the rapid testing is recommended for each child. Parental/guardian consent for this testing must be obtained and documented prior to the test being administered for a student. DHEC will be providing a uniform parental consent form for school districts. If consent is not given for the test to be performed, the student will be sent home to begin isolation and follow-up medical care will be recommended. This testing is also available for school staff.
While the BinaxNOW test isn’t as sensitive as PCR tests, they are most accurate when, and are intended for, use for symptomatic individuals.
A positive BinaxNOW result will be treated as a probable case and isolation will be required and contact tracing will begin extremely promptly. In the case of a negative BinaxNOW result, parents and guardians might be encouraged to seek additional attention from a healthcare provider to determine the cause of the symptoms, which may include a PCR test.
BinaxNOW rapid test results are available in approximately 15 minutes, so, for students or staff who develop symptoms on campus during the school day, COVID-19 can be very quickly diagnosed or ruled out. This is ideal especially in the event of a positive case, as isolation and contact tracing and quarantine are able to be performed much sooner, decreasing the risk of further spread. In addition, a negative test result may allow the child to remain in school, decreasing the amount of in-person school time lost.
It’s important to note that children who develop symptoms while at home should not be sent to school and that all exclusion criteria should be followed. However, symptoms may present during the school day. Because COVID-19 symptoms are similar to symptoms of other diseases, the BinaxNOW tests can be used to diagnose or potentially rule out COVID-19 as a cause of symptoms and do so quickly. This can be a helpful mitigation tool by allowing faster diagnosis of COVID-positive individuals, thereby allowing for isolation to begin quickly and for identifying potential close contacts to being quarantine quickly.
This testing will help to more quickly identify and diagnose COVID-positive individuals who develop and present symptoms during the school day on campus. This testing will provide an additional tool for schools' mitigation and infection control measures. COVID testing of any kind is one of many mitigation tools and does not replace consistent use of infection control measures like social distancing, hand hygiene, mask wearing, and others.
DHEC is helping coordinate distribution of these tests to school districts. Districts will then decide how best to distribute BinaxNOW tests to their schools. If a district runs out of tests before a planned monthly distribution, there is a process for requesting more tests, until supplies are depleted.
Each participating school district will receive tests based on 10 percent of their staff and student population, with the intended purpose of testing symptomatic staff or students who attend in-person and develop symptoms during the school day on campus. Districts will decide how best to distribute BinaxNOW tests to their schools. If a district runs out of tests before a planned monthly distribution, there is a process for requesting more tests, until supplies are depleted.
Yes. School districts and schools may choose to test symptomatic students and staff in the parking lot if they developed symptoms while at home.
Please reach out to your child’s school for details about the BinaxNOW testing availability.
