Stanford medical experts work to help schools get access to COVID-19 testing to reopen

STANFORD, Calif. (KRON) – Many teachers, parents, and students are hoping to go back to school safely at some point this year.

Medical experts at Stanford University are working to make that a possibility.

They are advising school districts across the state and in the Bay Area how to access COVID-19 testing and keep everyone safe once schools reopen to classroom instruction.

“It’s critical for children to get back to school but it also needs to be safe,” Yvonne Maldonado said. 

Experts at Stanford, busy working to help local school districts get access to testing should they be able to reopen this year.

“Testing is very helpful obviously but testing is only one piece of coming back to school you need to make sure you have to distance protocols that you have cleaning protocols that you have hand hygiene protocols masking protocols that you know how to build your curriculum correctly,” Maldonado said. 

For classroom teaching to begin again, the state says teachers and staff will need to be tested often and while the way that happens will be decided at the local level, doctors at

Stanford says Bay Area school districts, like Burlingame, are already planning on how that will happen.

“It’s not easy to have a centralized approach because each district will have their own approach and some have more resources and some have less so we are trying to help build some best practices for them,” Maldonado said. 

Stanford doctors say testing will help officials track infections and assess ongoing risks to make sure students and staff remain safe.

“Obviously it’s important to make sure people don’t come back to school sick — whether they have COVID or not people should be coming to school sick anyway,” Maldonado said. 

Latest Stories:

• Stanford medical experts work to help schools get access to COVID-19 testing to reopen
• 92-year-old woman loses Napa County home in LNU Lightning Complex fires
• Police in San Jose look for thieves who stole fire evacuees truck from parking lot
• Dickerson homers 3 times, Giants win big over Rockies, 23-5
• Answers sought after California deputies fatally shoot Black man Dijon Kizzee

from KRON4 https://ift.tt/2YRAUbZ