Prognosis

U.S. Schools Push Covid Tests After Anxiety of Holiday Surge

D.C. schools mandate negative test for students, staff return
‘I know the anxiety is high,’ Chicago Public Schools CEO Says

A parent, center, completes a form granting permission for random student Covid-19 testing as he arrives with his daughter at an elementary School in New York on Dec. 7.Photographer: Mark Lennihan/AP Photo

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By Shruti Singh

December 31, 2021 at 5:58 PM UTC

Updated on

December 31, 2021 at 8:09 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Hundreds of thousands of U.S. students and staff will face a new ritual as they return to school after the holiday spike in Covid-19 infections: ramped up testing.

In Washington, D.C., all students and staff must provide proof they are Covid-negative before re-entering schools on Jan. 5. In Chicago, the public schools are hustling to process more than 37,000 tests before the return to classes on Monday -- the flood is so great that delivery boxes in some areas were overflowing.