SOUTH CAROLINA, USA — Governor Henry McMaster recently announced every public school district in the state would receive rapid coronavirus test kits to test students and staff quickly.
Ryan Brown, the spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Education, says distribution for the Abbott BinaxNOW test began this week.
According to DHEC, they are also coordinating with the South Carolina Association of School Administrators for BinaxnNOW test pick-up at the monthly superintendent meeting.
The health agency says many school districts have not decided if they will use the testing kits, but the agency plans to have a complete list by the end of the week. According to DHEC, school leaders must fill out participation forms to participate.
News 19 reached out to several school districts to see if they were participating.
According to Richland One, there are still many questions that need to be addressed, along with logistics, to determine if there will be testing in the district.
A spokesperson for Richland Two says they plan to participate. However, there is a team of district administrators reviewing the guidelines before they administer the tests.
According to the Department of Education, each school is allotted 10 percent of testing kits based on its student and staff population. But school officials can request more tests if needed.
The Department of Education says the goal of this test is to quickly identify COVID-positive individuals who develop and present symptoms during the school day.
Below are the federal and state guidelines that must be followed in order for the district to administer the rapid tests, which requires specific infrastructure and logistics to be in place for:
Applying for and receiving the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver
Developing and implementing processes for staffing, test storage, quality control, and documentation required for CLIA waiver
Ensuring proper infectious waste disposal processes are in place and compliant with state and federal regulations.
Training nurses in the use of the BinaxNOW test kit and the CLIA requirements that are involved
Establishing and maintaining data and documentation management systems that uphold compliance with CLIA, HIPAA, FERPA, and other state and federal regulations.
Obtaining consent to be tested from parents/guardians
Developing and implementing operational and infectious control plans for test administration
