STATEWIDE — The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is launching a school testing program that will supplement testing resources, help students and staff continue in-person learning after contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and will reduce the burden on parents.
The Test to Stay Program, which began today, Feb. 1, offers a way out of quarantine for students and staff with school-associated exposures to COVID-19, if they remain asymptomatic and test negative twice.
An exposed student or staff member will take the first test as soon as they are notified they have been exposed. If this first test is negative, they may stay in school so long as they wear a well-fitting mask and remain asymptomatic.
The individual will test again five to seven days after their exposure to COVID-19. If the second test is also negative and they stay asymptomatic, the student or staff member can continue to remain at school.
Staff and students must wear a well-fitting mask consistently and correctly while around others for 10 days following their exposure to a positive case, even if their rapid tests are negative and regardless of masking policies at their specific school.
All administrators may also choose to include staff and students with non-household community exposures to participate in the program.
The program is open to everyone, but those who are up-to-date on their vaccinations do not have to quarantine after being exposed to someone at school who tested positive for COVID-19. Individuals are considered up-to-date if they have received all the recommended vaccinations, including a third dose for those 12 and older.
Those who are unvaccinated who choose not to participate in Test to Stay, and who are exposed to a positive case at school will not be allowed to remain at school. These individuals must complete the normal five-day quarantine, followed by five days of wearing a well-fitting mask in school.
“We are committed to helping ensure students continue in-person learning and are providing schools with a menu of testing resources to help make that happen,” Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, said.
Test to Stay complements several already-available testing options for schools. Schools also can take advantage of the free School Screening Testing Program, which offers wraparound testing services, including coordination of logistics, administration, and results reporting.
Schools also can request tests and develop their own testing program. CDPHE also provides surge testing resources while the state experiences high disease transmission.
In the Test to Stay program, CDPHE will provide schools with Abbott BinaxNOW rapid over-the-counter tests, and the schools will distribute them to eligible staff and students. These individuals will report their test results in Abbott’s NAVICA app/reporting platform, and schools will be able to see the results on the NAVICA app Dashboard.
All test results collected by the app are securely transmitted to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Enrollment in the program is now open to all schools, and those participating will be asked to complete a Memorandum of Understanding and are encouraged to institute the layered mitigation strategies outlined in the practical guide for operationalizing CDC’s school guidance. Schools already enrolled in the School Screening Program will need to enroll separately in Test to Stay.
Those who develop symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, should get tested immediately and isolate. Individuals who have symptoms but test negative with a rapid test should follow up with a PCR test. Positive rapid result tests do not need to be confirmed.
Any staff or student who tests positive while participating in the Test to Stay program should isolate.
