With COVID-19 cases rapidly rising this early into the school year, school districts and the Massachusetts government alike have been brainstorming ways they can attempt to control the spread of the coronavirus as much as possible. Starting in early December, 134 school districts will begin a rapid coronavirus testing program, and Wayland is one of those districts.

Students or faculty members who are symptomatic will be able to be tested with an Abbott BinaxNOW rapid test, which will get results in 15 minutes and will show the results in a mobile app; however, positive results do not necessarily mean confirmed infection, it will mean that the student or faculty must go get a PCR test, which the school will not offer.

Among the other districts trying this program out are Lincoln-Sudbury and Weston, Wayland’s neighbors.

This will be the first phase of the program, but Massachusetts officials hope to expand testing to more schools in the very near future in order to keep students in school.

“If you talk to almost anybody in the pediatric community, they’ll tell you that the consequences – the very negative, very real, and in some cases sustained consequences – of the isolation and lack of rhythm, and the lack of socialization, and the lack of engagement with their peers and with their teachers on a regular basis is an enormous public health threat and potential calamity,” Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said.