Dear Families, Faculty and Staff,
Due to ongoing challenges with saliva testing, especially for our youngest students, we have decided to shift our weekly testing program from Shield IL to Northshore Clinical Labs (NCL) which offers PCR and antigen tests administered by a shallow nasal swab. Our last day of saliva testing will be Friday, October 29 and we will begin with NCL on Monday, November 1.
NCL is a high-capacity laboratory based in Chicago supporting COVID-19 testing throughout the country. By partnering with NCL and utilizing their extensive testing services, we are able to bolster our risk mitigation efforts and further promote the health and safety of our community. Partnering with NCL will:
Mandatory weekly testing of all unvaccinated individuals will continue through NCL. The weekly PCR tests will be administered by a shallow nasal swab and we will receive the results within 24 hours. The same PCR tests will be used for fully vaccinated individuals who are identified as close contacts to a positive case. Test-to-stay participants will receive both a PCR test, with results within 24 hours, AND an antigen test, with results obtained within 15 minutes. To prepare your student for a shallow nasal swab, please see this video.
NCL has highly trained clinical staff that will administer the tests in collaboration with our COVID Response Team members on site at Latin, during school hours. If a student receives a positive result from either the PCR or rapid antigen test, Latin will communicate to the parents/guardians of that individual student. Latin's COVID response team will proceed with the contact tracing procedures previously communicated. NCL and their staff are HIPAA compliant and confidentiality will always be preserved.
The schedule for testing will be designed to minimize interference with instruction, maximize safety and efficiency and preserve privacy and dignity for those being tested. Upper school students will continue to test midday on Tuesdays during lunch blocks; all Lower and Middle school students will now test on Tuesdays. Students participating in test-to-stay will be tested according to the appropriate test-to-stay schedule (days 1, 3, 5 and 7 following an exposure).
Insurance information required Testing by NCL comes at no cost to families. Your insurance information is required but there is absolutely no cost sharing. If an individual does not have insurance, coverage will be provided through the HRSA COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund at no cost (identification of parent/guardian is required). If you provide insurance information, there will be a line item on the coverage documentation but there will be no cost to the insured individual/family.
We kindly ask that parents/guardians, faculty and staff, regardless of vaccination status, complete this registration form by Friday, October 29. By registering, you are giving consent for you and or your student(s) to be tested at Latin, as required or necessary. Parents/guardians should submit a separate registration form for each student enrolled at Latin for the 2021-2022 school year.
Once registered, if you are interested in setting up an account to have access to your or your student's test results, please click here. Parents/Guardians should make accounts using their student's name and DOB and must make an account for each student in order to access individual results.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we pivot our testing program. While change isn't always easy and some initial help and cooperation is needed from everyone, we are confident that this new partnership and testing program will better serve our school community in helping to promote a safe and healthy school environment.
Latin's COVID Response Team
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