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Missouri to send 583K rapid COVID-19 tests to schools

Gov Mike Parson press conference Oct. 29, 2020
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than 330 school districts in Missouri are set to receive approximately 583,000 rapid COVID-19 tests.

Gov. Mike Parson announced Thursday during a briefing that the state was expected to receive 1.8 million Abbott rapid-testing kits.

The state has started shipping the rapid tests — which are “a less invasive nasal swab” that can return results in roughly 15 minutes, according to Parson — to schools and districts who requested them through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Schools will have the option to use the tests on site, if a student or staff member displays symptoms of COVID-19, or can contract with the local health department or a local health care provider to administer the tests.

State education leaders have encouraged schools to consider cost and convenience in deciding how to use the tests. Those given at schools will be free, but third-party vendors may charge to administer the tests.

The average number of cases per day in Missouri continues to climb with a seven-day average of nearly 2,000 new cases and 34 deaths per day, according to the 41 Action News Daily COVID-19 Tracker.

Parson said hospital bed and ventilator capacity in Missouri remains strong overall, but singled out Springfield as an area where an influx of cases from surrounding rural communities has stressed the health care infrastructure.

The University of Kansas Hospital said a record number of COVID patients has overflowed into a secondary ICU, a sign that the pandemic is also straining resources in the Kansas City area.

On the bright side, Parson said, Missouri unemployment remains low and 63% of the jobs lost during shutdown orders last spring have been recovered.

He also announced that state offices will be closed the Friday after Thanksgiving “as a thank you to state workers.”