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This bulletin is being sent to school district administrators, private school administration representatives, and tribal school contacts. Local health officers and tribal health directors are courtesy copied for awareness.
Districts/schools can place additional at-home test orders
Districts/schools are now able to place additional orders of at-home COVID-19 antigen tests through the DHS website. Schools/districts were first able to order at-home antigen tests for distribution in August.
These tests are intended for K-12 schools to distribute to students and staff. At-home test orders should not exceed the population of students and staff for each district/school. Schools/districts do NOT have to be enrolled in the K-12 COVID-19 Testing Program to order at-home antigen tests.
Updated guidance from DHS allows at-home tests to be used in certain public health decisions, including “determining if someone has COVID-19 for the purposes of returning to work or school.” A confirmatory PCR test may be required in certain scenarios.
DPI-DHS webinar set for October 25
A joint webinar for school stakeholders will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, October 25. Officials from Department of Health Services and Department of Public Instruction will discuss health issues facing schools and districts in Wisconsin, including COVID-19, monkeypox and updates to CDC and DHS guidance for schools.
Register for the webinar here: https://dhswi.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_1WMVOm7RRsy_noao2_0Ikg
Schools can order child-size masks, other items from state PPE stockpile
Schools are still able to order child-size KN95 masks for children aged 2-12 from the Wisconsin PPE stockpile. Schools are also temporarily able to request adult face masks and vinyl gloves.
School districts may continue to submit requests via the DHS Stockpile Request form. The child-size masks should only be provided in response to requests and not for general distribution, and the quantity requested should not exceed enrollment of children at each facility.
Ordering instructions can be found on this DHS web page: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/ppe.htm
Requests for additional vendor support
Schools performing COVID-19 testing with vendor support are reminded that hours of vendor support are limited to 15 per week per tester. Requests for additional hours must be made by the school/district to the K-12 COVID-19 Testing inbox.
Vendors should not be making the request on behalf of the school/district. Requests for additional support will be reviewed using previous and current testing numbers, reasons for the request and disease prevalence.
Requests for additional vendor support should be made by email to DHSK12COVIDtesting@dhs.wisconsin.gov and should include reasons for the request. Vendor contacts should also be included on the email for their awareness.
Schools should also contact the K-12 inbox if the schools’/districts’ testing model changes, such as moving from vendor-supported to staff-collected testing.
School/district responsibilities reminder
School/district officials must ensure the school responsibilities of the K-12 COVID-19 Testing Program are being met. The responsibilities were outlined in the enrollment form and were included with the introduction email that was sent to participating schools.
As colder weather sets in, it’s important to ensure testers have reasonable access to heated indoor testing space, as well as restrooms and water fountains. This is for the safety of the testers, as well as for the people being tested.
Additionally, schools/districts are reminded that verifying vendor-supported testing hours on a regular basis is part of the DHS program. The verification helps DHS to be responsible stewards of the remaining funds that support the K-12 COVID-19 Testing Program.
The full list of school/district responsibilities are:
- Providing reasonable accommodations including, but not limited to, an indoor testing space with temperature regulation between 68 and 77° F, access to restrooms and water fountains.
- Providing on-premises parking for vendor staff or, at minimum, an equipment loading area.
- Providing, if requested by the school, equipment such as doorbells or phone access at testing site.
- Providing a continually updated contact list to the vendor for each testing location.
- Providing a minimum of 10 business days’ notice for scheduled event testing and as much notice as possible for outbreak testing.
- Providing, for vendor-supported onsite testing, as much notice as possible for decreases in scheduled testing and at least 3 weeks for increased needs.
- Flexibility in scheduling hours based on vendor availability.
- Confirming total number of vendor-supported hours, based on vendor’s invoicing schedule, via email to DHSK12COVIDtesting@dhs.wisconsin.gov
- Being responsive to your assigned vendor and openly communicating all testing needs and challenges.
If the district/school is unable to fulfill these responsibilities, vendors may be unable to continue supporting COVID-19 testing at the district/school.
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