Baker Pushes Districts To Ramp Up Virus Screening While Reopening Schools
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker tours a pooled COVID-19 testing program during a visit to the Nock-Molin Middle School in Newburyport, Massachusetts on Feb. 26, 2021.
Nicolaus Czarnecki/Boston Herald/Pool
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker is pushing for more school districts to adopt in-house COVID-19 screening as they bring students back for classroom learning this spring.
Baker appeared at the Nock-Molin Middle School in Newburyport to tour the school's pool testing operation and reopened in-class learning Friday morning.
Baker's pool testing program, launched in January, allows schools to test samples from groups of students and teachers for infection. When a positive result is found, each member of the group is then tested to find any infected individuals The method is seen as a way to screen groups like school pods and whole classes using minimal laboratory resources.