Osceola County

Osceola County schools to ‘pool test’ students for COVID-19 based on where they live

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Osceola County School District is beginning the process of “pool testing” students for coronavirus this week.

Each day, some students in a classroom will be randomly tested, and then when the results come back, the district will decide what to do next.

The district said it will start testing schools in the Kissimmee area.

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The district said it is basing testing on ZIP-codes that have the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases.

At some schools, like Celebration K-8 School, testing students will start on Tuesday.

A licensed nurse at the school will provide testing for staff and students who have been given permission by their parents.

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The test will be a throat swab.

The “pool testing” works like this: If there are 25 kids in a classroom, a certain number of those kids will be randomly selected for testing.

Their results will be run together in one test tube. If any positive results come back, the district will decide how to move forward.