All students and staff at Barrington High School and Barrington Middle School are now being offered testing for Covid-19 through a special program that will run through the end of the school year.

The program was made possible through a coordinated effort from the school district, the Rhode Island Department of Education and the Rhode Island Department of Health. The tests are for asymptomatic students and staff; anyone who is not feeling well or exhibiting symptoms should remain home and schedule a PCR test with the Rhode Island Department of Health.

The tests are mandatory for student-athletes, coaches and others who participate in or lead in-person after-school extracurricular activities, Barrington school officials said. They are voluntary for everyone else at the high school. Parental consent is required for participation in weekly scheduled testing.

“Rhode Island continues to pursue aggressive testing for COVID-19 as a foundation for addressing the pandemic in the state,” stated a release from Barrington High School. “As part of the state testing approach, we are now testing in schools.”

The test is the non-invasive BinaxNOW card test, which requires the individual to place a cotton swab in both nostrils, circulate the swab around the nasal cavity and then place the swab on the BinaxNOW card to wait for the results. Officials said results are available within 15 to 30 minutes.

“Staff or families will be immediately notified of a positive test result,” stated the release. “If you or your child is testing and you do not hear from the school within a half-hour of their test, you can assume they are negative​. The school administrators/ school nurse and personnel deemed necessary to record data will have access to the results of the BinaxNOW test.”

The testing was set to begin on Friday, Jan. 22, with five-day student learner student-athletes and athletic staff, as well as school counseling officials, and educators in the art, business and English departments. It will continue next week; students and staff were provided a schedule for when they can be tested. The testing is free.