A note came in Tuesday afternoon from Superintendent Conrad that Bedford school nursing staff will be able to offer optional and parental consent required rapid COVID-19 testing for students who develop symptoms during a school day. Updates from the Superintendent are posted on the district website, which includes links to Fall 2022 Massachusetts Department of Education and CDC recommendations for schools.
I am pleased to inform you that the Bedford Public School nursing staff will be able to begin COVID-19 symptomatic testing at school. Over the weekend the school nurses received approval from the state to administer rapid antigen testing using Abbott BinaxNOW or iHealth tests on-site at each school health office. This testing service is optional and consent is required prior to testing. See the link below to sign up for your student.
2022-2023 Student Consent Form for Symptomatic COVID-19 Testing at School
This service is for students who develop symptoms while already at school. We still need all families to screen their children each day before school and refer to the COVID-19 symptoms checklist on the BPS website. If your child has mild symptoms of illness, please test them at home with a rapid home antigen test before sending them to school.
We encourage all families to keep a supply of COVID-19 home rapid antigen tests on hand. Home test kits are available from the following town offices during normal business hours: Health Department, Council on Aging, Town Manager’s Office, or the Bedford Free Public Library. Students may attend school with mild symptoms as long as they are testing negative on an antigen test before coming to school.
Many families signed up for iHealth home tests last Spring and may still have them left over. The expiration date for this product has been extended. You can check the expiration dates with the lot # using this link: iHealth Expiration Date Extension
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