Washington University’s Institute for Public Health, St. Louis University and the Centers for Disease Control are partnering with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on a project to better understand transmission of COVID-19 in schools.
Schools in St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Greene County will participate in the three-month effort, which is voluntary.
The project will determine the impact of COVID-19 safety protocols and procedures, such as mask mandates at local school levels, on virus transmission in school settings. When a case is identified in a participating school, contact tracing will be performed to identify close contacts. Those individuals will self-monitor for symptoms and be offered saliva testing developed by Washington University at various times during the quarantine period to help identify potential transmission.
A recent KMOV story quoted Jason Newland, MD, professor of pediatrics, about the project.