State approach to surveillance testing in schools reasonable, Fayetteville public health officer says

FAYETTEVILLE -- The state's plan to administer rapid antigen tests for employees at schools will help provide a sense of community spread of covid-19, the city's public health officer said Wednesday.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson earlier in the day announced the state received 100,000 BinaxNOW kits, which yield results for covid testing in a matter of minutes. The state also will receive 50,000 additional test kits each week.

The intention is to do rapid surveillance testing for staff at schools, prisons and human-development centers, with a reserve for health care workers. Surveillance testing refers to testing people in a controlled environment regardless of whether they show symptoms or suspect exposure.

Rapid antigen tests typically are reserved for people showing symptoms or have had potential exposure to covid-19. Negative results for an individual asymptomatic person may be unreliable. However, when administered to a group, the results from the test can help paint a picture of spread that may otherwise not be known, said Marti Sharkey, the city's public health officer.

"With surveillance, you're looking for is it present or not, and how prevalent is it?" she said. "Because you're not treating a patient who's sitting in front of you, you aren't as concerned whether you have the false positive or the false negative."

The city Board of Health in past meetings discussed the need to have surveillance testing for students and staff at schools, and use the findings get an idea, percentage-wise, of the spread of covid-19 in the city. The board last week sent a letter to the state Department of Health asking for a share of rapid tests to do a one-time, mass testing event at schools.

Sharkey said the state's approach makes sense. Under the plan, 55% of the BinaxNOW kits would go to schools. The idea is to test a teacher in a classroom, for instance, which would reveal whether covid exists in that classroom, she said. Staff will be tested weekly.

From there, health officials could do contact tracing, Sharkey said.

"I think it's a reasonable approach," she said. "It's a way to give the teachers some reassurance that their health is a priority, then also to do surveillance in the schools."

In other business during Wednesday's city Board of Health meeting, members expressed satisfaction with signs relating to covid-19 precautions that'll be placed at polling sites in Washington County. Last week, the board looked at a mockup sign making no mention of masks. The signs now will say masks are strongly encouraged, and voters should stay 6 feet apart.

Polling places are exempted from the state mask mandate, although the directive strongly encourages voters to wear them.

Members of the board also plan to tour the Fayetteville Public Library expansion to provide guidance on how to safely unveil the space to the public. The library has been closed since late last month to put the finishing touches on its 82,500-square-foot expansion, and is set to open in late November or early December.