The University of Oregon is helping provide free voluntary COVID-19 testing at K-12 schools this fall, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The take-home PCR tests will be collected each week for lab processing. Schools can opt-in to the program, and then parents can sign up.
Brian Fox is the director of the testing program, and has worked with the UO’s Monitoring and Assessment program to provide campus and community testing since last year.
“Our goal is to make this as simple a process for schools and for parents as possible,” Fox said. “We know that schools are dealing with a lot right now, we know that parents are dealing with a lot right now, and we want to be one part of the solution.”
The UO has processed over 90,000 tests so far, and Fox hopes offering voluntary testing will help keep students in school.