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WS/FC Schools Shifts COVID-19 Testing Strategy For Students

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, September 28, 2021. KERI BROWN/WFDD

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education voted to delay mandated COVID-19 testing for students who participate in athletics and other extracurricular activities.

Those efforts are now being shifted to focus on providing testing in schools throughout the district.

The required testing for student-athletes, JROTC, band and other activities referred to as high risk was scheduled to begin in October. But the number of positive COVID-19 cases have been relatively low in those participating in these activities over the past few weeks.

The district says it's also received calls from parents who say it's difficult to find regular testing in the community for their child. 

As a result, the school system is now planning to provide free diagnostic COVID testing in schools for symptomatic students.

Fredricca Stokes, the assistant superintendent of student support, says parents would have to sign a consent for their child.

“They may have that cough or they may vomit or they may have some of the exclusionary symptoms. If they are able to get a test immediately right then, then we can go ahead and rule out COVID, so they don't have to miss additional days outside of school,“says Stokes.

Since the first day of school on August 23 through September 17, there have been more than 1,100 confirmed cases among students and staff and more than 2,000 close contacts with someone infected.

Stokes says overall, this resulted in more than 3,000 people being excluded from school.

Also at Tuesday night's meeting, the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education voted to continue its mask mandate for students and staff for at least another four weeks. The policy will be reassessed at that time to determine if it should remain or be lifted. 

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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