CT Begins Rapid Coronavirus Test Pilot In Schools

CONNECTICUT — Connecticut is piloting the rapid coronavirus Binax test in Middletown schools and will eventually roll it out to more schools across the state. The test provides results within 15 minutes for symptomatic individuals.

The tests will be used when a student or staff member develops symptoms over the course of the day, Gov. Ned Lamont said. Students and staff that have symptoms before school shouldn’t go in to the classroom and should seek out testing.

“That result gives the superintendent and the teachers here confidence, if it’s a test negative you don’t have to shut down, you don’t have to quarantine you can keep everybody going,” Gov. Ned Lamont said at a news conference.

Those who have a negative test result should probably also get a PCR test to confirm the negative result, Lamont said.

There have been 10 Binax tests administered in the Middletown Public School district to date, said Superintendent Michael T. Conner, Of those two came back positive.

The federal government purchased all of Abbott’s first batch of the test and distributed it to states. Connecticut officials decided the tests should be used in college and K-12 settings.

Connecticut has received around 150,000 Binax tests to date and has distributed about half of them to universities, Lamont said. The state expects to get 1 million Binax tests by the end of the year from the federal government.

Around 15 to 20 other school districts have expressed interest in using the Binax test, said state Department of Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona.