Attendance is optional, but the state hopes to test at least 1% of students weekly
A COVID-19 test kit. The New Mexico Department of Public Education announced that schools will begin a testing program.
Jerry McBride / Durango Herald File
FARMINGTON – New Mexico school districts and charter schools launched COVID-19 testing programs this week to further increase “safety” during the pandemic.
New Mexico Public Education Department spokeswoman Judy Robinson said in an email Monday that the department had given districts and charter schools until Tuesday to run student testing programs.
The student tests are voluntary and the results of the program do not need to be shared with the Public Education Department. Instead, the New Mexico Department of Health School’s health attorneys will collect the data on the programs.
The goal, Robinson said, is to test 1% of the general student population every week and 10% of all student athletes every week.
Testing is completely voluntary and does not cost the students anything.
“This is a voluntary student monitoring testing program – it’s a service we offer to the community. This will help increase public confidence in the safety of schools, ”said Ryan Stewart, Secretary of State for Public Education. “By testing volunteer students, we can get better information about what is happening with the virus in schools and educate the public about how our precautions are working.”
In-school testing can help identify cases that might otherwise go undetected, which could allow the virus to spread further within the school, Robinson said.
“High rates of negative test results instill confidence that protective measures are working, especially during high-risk activities like exercise,” said Robinson.
Schools are required to conduct surveillance tests of unvaccinated employees at the rates determined by the color of each county on the Department of Health’s map. Turquoise counties must test 5% of eligible employees per week, green and yellow counties must test 12.5, and red counties must test 25%. As of this week, San Juan County would test at 12.5% because the county is in the Yellow Level.
“We still have significant transmission in many of our communities, and we have not escaped the risk of the disease rising further, which poses a significant risk to life and health. Tests are one of the tools we have to minimize the risk, ”said Dr. Daniel Sosin, epidemiologist at the State Ministry of Health.
Testing options for students include BinaxNOW, an antigen test to determine if a student currently has COVID-19; VAULT Tests, a mail-in test program; or curative testing that takes place on site at the school.
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