Coronavirus

No antigen tests for COVID available in La Crosse schools at the moment

Published

2 years ago

January 11, 2022

Brad Williams

A rapid type of COVID test will not be available for now in the La Crosse School District.

Supplies of the antigen test are short, but the PCR test for COVID will still be used at the Hogan building.

“We found out (Monday) night, like around 5 o’clock, from our testing vendor that the Department of Health Services has halted antigen testing to vendors that are working with schools,” says Aimee Zabrowski, the director of student services for the district.

Zabrowski says some students exposed to COVID in the La Crosse school system may be able to come back to class after a short time without having to show test results. She says the test requirement depends on where a student came in close contact with a COVID patient.

“For school-based close contacts and community-based close contacts, because they have a lower risk of actually developing infection than a household contact,” Zabrowski says, “as long as they’re not experiencing symptoms, they can come back at Day 6 without showing a test.”

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.