The County of San Diego is working with the University of California San Diego on a pilot program that could provide a roadmap for schools to reopen safely while our community is vaccinated.
The Safer at School Early Alert system, or ‘Sassy’ as it is called by participants, is an evidence-based program to detect SARS-CoV-2 at schools and child care centers. The project began with technology launched as part of UC San Diego’s Return to Learn program that collects daily wastewater samples tested for coronavirus for sheds.
Safer at School Early Alert has been launched in ten schools and two child care centers in communities over the past four months that include the highest risk for COVID-19, including San Ysidro, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Southeast San Diego and Vista.
“We know the education gap has widened by the pandemic – often in our communities hardest hit by the pandemic,” said Nathan Fletcher, chairman of the County Board of Supervisors. “In my discussions with UCSD researchers and my COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Group, it has become clear that there are cheaper alternatives to regular tests that allow some of the students most affected to return safely to school. stop. Through this launch and funding through the federal CARES law approved by the Board, we were able to test new testing options. I hope we can scale up this program. ”
Through daily wastewater and surface monitoring, the Safer at School Early Alert tests for the presence of particles of the coronavirus and combines it with a responsive testing strategy. The goal is to quickly identify children or staff members infected with COVID-19 before an outbreak occurs.
The three elements of the pilot use a robot in a sewer to collect daily wastewater samples tested at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, daily flooring for established virus particles and a free PCR testing program. Childcare facilities also send used diapers to test fecal samples in children who have not yet been trained.
A second step includes daily surface monitoring. Teachers or staff use a swab to taste a portion of a square meter from the center of the floor in a classroom, this is where aerosols tend to sag. These samples are tested daily at the UC San Diego Laboratory.
Testing children and staff at each location is the third part of the detection program. Voluntary consent Children and staff undergo free PCR COVID-19 testing at their school or child care center in response to a positive outcome of wastewater or surface monitoring.
“The safe reopening of schools remains a priority for the province of San Diego,” said Wilma J. Wooten, MD, MPH, public health officer. “What UC San Diego has shown with the Safer at School early warning trial program models the kinds of steps that can help us go back to classroom education as we continue to fight the virus.”