Prognosis

U.S. Kicks in $10 Billion to Spur New School Tests for Covid

Testing underway at more than 1,000 Massachusetts schools
Remaining obstacle beyond money: reluctance to participate

Students receive Covid-19 tests from emergency medical technicians at an elementary school in California.Photographer: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

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By Carey Goldberg

April 28, 2021 at 11:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

In a routine likely to become familiar soon to millions more U.S. public school students, 18-year-old Caitlin Knight lines up in a hallway each Monday and twirls a swab in her nose.

A nurse with a rolling cart collects her sample, drops it into a tube with swabs from several other students, and sends it off for coronavirus testing.