PENNSYLVANIA, USA — To keep students learning in person, the state will offer voluntary COVID-19 testing in grades K through 12 this school year.
Nose swabs will be tested to see if the virus has made its way into the school building.
School districts will have to opt into the program, and parents must consent to the weekly classroom testing.
Parents we spoke to in the Poconos don't see an issue.
"I think it's a good idea to have them be tested. This way, you know all the kids are safe, and it's just a safer environment for everyone overall, just to keep up with who is sick and who isn't," said Star King, Stroudsburg.
"I don't mind. If it's a quick nasal swab, no big deal. It saves a trip to the doctor's office," said Katherine Campbell, Stroudsburg.
The East Stroudsburg Area School District is just one place in Monroe County looking to opt into weekly COVID-19 testing in the classroom.
In a statement sent to Newswatch 16, Eric Forsyth, ESASD Director of Administrative Services, said:
"The East Stroudsburg Area School District is currently working on its application to participate in this program. Testing would be offered to staff and students, with parental consent, as a service to those who want to be tested or to those who present symptoms of COVID-19. The program is voluntary."
As the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to affect communities, parents think testing in the classroom is a smart move since students under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccines.
"It's so hard because you don't know where it's coming from, and all the cases last year, they said it wasn't being transmitted actually in the school. Kids were getting it outside of the school, but I don't know. It's so hard," said Caroline DiPasquale, Brodheadsville.
"I think that would be good. I think maybe it would help people not get COVID," said Charley DiPasquale, age 10.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, there will be no repercussions for students who do not participate.