'Unprecedented': Los Angeles schools to test all 600,000 students for Covid-19 US news | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/17/los-angeles-schools-covid-19-tests

>In the most ambitious plan of its kind, Los Angeles Unified has announced plans to test its roughly 600,000 students and 75,000 employees as the nation’s second-largest school district prepares for the eventual return to in-person instruction.
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>The superintendent of Los Angeles Unified, Austin Beutner, said in a statement the program will provide regular Covid testing and contact tracing for school staff, students and families.
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>“Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary actions, and while this testing and contact tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate,” Beutner said.
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>The testing program is set to kick off Monday, with additional services to roll out as the school year continues. Over time, testing will be available to all children and staff members in the sprawling school district that has more than 600,000 students. The district said services will also be offered to family members of students and staff who test positive for Covid-19.
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>Los Angeles Unified, which has been closed for in-person instruction since March, last month announced plans to begin the new school year online as case numbers surged. The school district must wait for the state to greenlight plans to reopen schools for in-person instruction, though that may not happen in the near future.
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>Beutner said case numbers in Los Angeles still far exceed state guidelines for a safe return to school and said that in-person instruction for all students is “some time away”.
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>“The level of new cases in Los Angeles are still two and a half times the state guidelines, and while the portion of those testing positive is below state thresholds, it’s still considerably higher than the World Health Organization standards and those in place for New York,” Beutner told Los Angeles Times.
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