The Los Angeles Unified School District — the nation’s second largest school district — is launching a coronavirus testing and contact tracing program at schools, said Superintendent Austin Beutner.
The district is reopening with virtual learning starting Tuesday.
Staff, students and their families will get regular testing which will be used “to study the impact and effects of reopening,” the district said.
“While this testing and contact tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate,” Beutner said in a statement. “This will provide a public health benefit to the school community, as well as the greater Los Angeles area.”
It also benefits students’ education “by getting them back to school sooner and safer and keeping them there,” he said.
“We hope this effort also will provide learnings which can benefit other school systems,” he added.
California has more than 625,000 coronavirus cases, higher than any other state in the U.S.
