Cass Tech is offering students and staff the opportunity to take a weekly COVID-19 test. The district has committed to testing to ensure it can remain open by tracking cases and taking the necessary precautions.
Currently, testing is voluntary for students. Cass Tech freshman Demarcus Erve supports mandated COVID-19 testing for all students.
“Then we’ll know what the whole school is if we need to go back virtual or if we can continue to stay in person, so yeah I think everybody should get tested," Erve said.
The district partnered with LynxDx Inc. to facilitate the testing. Cass Tech students and staff are encouraged to take the test weekly.
Before testing, students and staff must avoid eating or drinking anything but water for 30 minutes. Results are expected in 24-48 hours after testing with a 99.9% accuracy rate, said Brandie Graves, a staff member of LynxDx.
“We get your name and we make you verify your name and your date of birth, and we have you spit saliva into a test tube, we secure it and it gets transported to a lab in Ann Arbor," Graves said.
Students and staff must remain in the room to complete the test.
Only four people are allowed to take the test at a time. Senior Nazria Begum had a good experience while testing.
“I felt pretty safe because while we were in the testing room, it was only like four people that took the test at the same time so we had a lot of space to ourselves,” Begum said.
Erve and Begum said they will be testing weekly at school.
“Oh yeah, definitely, I get tested every week, "Erve said.
The LynxDx staff is at Cass Tech every Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The testing process takes approximately two minutes to complete and it is on a walk-in basis. Students and staff can test during their lunch periods.
