{"id":143794,"date":"2021-06-17T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T18:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=143794"},"modified":"2021-06-17T14:25:19","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T00:25:19","slug":"safer-school-reopening-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2021\/06\/17\/safer-school-reopening-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Safer school reopening model spearheaded by UH<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"person
COVID-19 testing for Kamaile Academy’s faculty and staff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s progress in controlling the spread of COVID-19 infections and in administering vaccinations, significant gaps remain in the state\u2019s underserved communities, further widening health disparities. But a Waiʻanae<\/span> charter school\u2019s success this spring as a pilot project for free weekly SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing of its teachers and staff could lead to safer school reopenings in the fall statewide.<\/p>\n

Approximately 80% of the 120 teachers and staff at Kamaile Academy (K–12) volunteered to take free rapid antigen testing starting in March 2021. The pilot program concluded in late May, with the participating teachers and staff undergoing the nasal swab tests—many of them swabbing their own noses—and the majority being tested more than once, some on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n