East Baton Rouge Parish School System To Mitigate Spread Of Coronavirus Through Employee And Optional Student Testing

Press release from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System:

August 23, 2021

In an effort to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our schools and communities, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted this evening to begin weekly testing of all employees and allow for optional testing of students with parental consent.

“The goal is to continue to provide an environment that is safe, secure and healthy for everyone who walks into our building. This is one additional and proven method of ensuring that we are keeping our staff, our students, and our families safe from this deadly virus and its spread by identifying those individuals in our school building who may be infected with COVID-19. It is our duty to protect the children in our care – while continuing to provide them with the best possible education – and I firmly believe this allows us to be better prepared to protect them,” stated Superintendent Dr. Sito Narcisse.

Employees with the EBRPSS will also be asked to provide their COVID-19 vaccination status through a secure and private online portal by September 15, 2021. Testing will be provided at each employee’s school or administrative site by Orion Laboratories, a trusted partner of the Louisiana Department of Health, with minimal disruption to the workday.

Further Information on the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s safe re-opening plan, testing information for employees, and optional testing program for students, please visit ebrschools.org/covid-19-2021-2022-reopening/.

This press release was produced by the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. The views expressed here are the author’s own.