Missouri K-12 public and private schools who want rapid COVID-19 tests must request them by next Wednesday at noon. Applications should be submitted to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The department will then work quickly to get the BinaxNOW antigen testing to schools.
The tests are not as uncomfortable as other nasal swab versions and they give results in about 15 minutes. They are supposed to be used on symptomatic school workers first and then students.
During a press conference today at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Gov. Mike Parson says the new testing could be a “game-changer” for Missouri.
“Testing is the key to how we move forward, whether it’s the economy, whether it’s the school systems, whether it’s public safety, whether it’s everyday lives. We just have got to keep expanding,” says Parson.
Missouri has received about 120,000 of the tests so far from the federal government with another 1.6 million designated for the state.
“Eighty-nine percent of the kids in the state of Missouri are in school – in classrooms as we speak or a hybrid version across the state. So, I think those are important,” says Parson. “I think every expert, everybody you would talk to, believes those kids should be in school. So, we’ve got to make sure that we get the testing.”
The state’s colleges and universities will have the chance to apply soon to also get the antigen tests.
Missouri K-12 schools can click here for more information about applying. Click on the antigen testing section.
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