TACOMA, Wash. — Three school districts are participating in a pilot program with the mission of getting students back into the classroom.
Beginning in December, weekly COVID-19 testing at schools will occur for students and staff in the Eatonville, Peninsula and White River districts. The results will help isolate positive cases quickly and allow close contacts to quarantine.
The program will give school and health officials more information to use when deciding when and how students and staff can resume in-person learning.
The Pierce County Council approved $7.8 million in federal CARES Act funds for the pilot project.
The decision to bring students back to school is up to local districts.
The Department of Health issued guidance that includes benchmarks and thresholds on when it's appropriate to bring students back to class – currently 75 cases or fewer over a 14-day period within a community.
In the past 14 days, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has reported 3,395 cases. The county's 14-day case rate is 376 per 100,000 people. The average cases per day over 14 days is 242.
Officials warned that the winter months could increase the number of COVID-19 infections as people stay inside.