School COVID Testing Catches Thousands Of Cases In LA

Los Angeles CA

18 August, 2021

2:04 PM

Description

LOS ANGELES, CA — Coronavirus screening leading up to the first day of school in the Los Angeles Unified School District requiring students uncovered more than 3,600 positive cases among students and staff, the district annoubced. As of this week, 81 percent of the district's students underwent baseline COVID testing between Aug. 2-15. Of that group, 3,255 of them tested positive for the virus for a testing-positivity rate of roughly 0.8%. A total of 399 cases were found among district employees, for a positivity rate of 0.6%, according to the district. According to the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, someone infected with the Delta variant of the virus — the dominant variant in Los Angeles — infects about six more people on average. The school district released data on student and staff infections this week to show how testing may already have averted an outbreak in Los Angeles schools. The district will require weekly COVID testing for students and employees, regardless of their vaccination status. All district employees must be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15. The measures are the most aggressive in combating the coronavirus of any major school district in the nation. The health screenings led to long lines of students at some schools Monday as classes resumed, due to the high volume of students and parents trying to access the Daily Pass app the district is using to verify tests. The app generates a code that can be scanned as students enter campus. Interim Superintendent Megan K. Reilly acknowledged Monday that the system was slow, contributing to lines at some schools, but it was due to the sheer number of people trying to access the app at once. In releasing the baseline testing figures Monday, district officials noted that the screening "has helped families and employees stay safe at home and get the care they need as we start the new school year." By Tuesday, the morning lines outside schools were dramatically shorter. City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.