DALLAS — Dallas County continues reporting record positive cases of COVID-19. On Tuesday, Dallas County Health and Human Services reported 445 positive cases and seven additional deaths.
Meantime, the fieldhouse at Lancaster High School was busy with traffic. This week, the location was transformed into a walk-up COVID-19 testing site.
”The crowd that we’ve had has been remarkable,” said nurse Nicole Crowder with Lancaster ISD.
A steady flow of student athletes, faculty, and staff showed up this week. Staff described the testing site as part of a proactive measure.
”Considering the climate and everything that’s going on, and now that we have the practices going on for the summer, we want to make sure that our students and our staff are safe, to the best of our ability,” said Crowder.
The Lancaster ISD COVID-19 testing site is the first of its kind set up in a school District in Dallas County, according to organizers. The walk-up testing site was made possible with a partnership between the school district, Dallas County and the military.
Organizers say the COVID-19 testing site was significant, considering this week Texas UIL relaxed some of its summer strength and conditioning practice rules. Texas UIL is now allowing increased group sizes, while removing the 20:1 student-teacher ratio.
The relaxed rules also come days after student athletes in at least six North Texas area schools districts tested positive for the novel virus.
”I don’t want anybody to get comfortable with this virus,” Crowder said. “Not by any means.”
Lancaster ISD’s nursing staff, superintendent, and other administrators remain in constant communication with coaches, while implementing plans to keep students and staff safe.
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