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Free COVID-19 tests for Lorain City Schools students and staff, winter-athletes must be tested

Posted at 7:19 PM, Oct 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-15 19:50:44-04

LORAIN, Ohio — Although the classrooms are currently bare, the Lorain City School District wants to help its students through this pandemic.

Thursday was the first day of COVID-19 testing for students and staff at the George Daniel Field House.

The district said it pushed to get free testing because much of the Lorain City Schools are made up of Black and Latino families, those groups of people are being disproportionately affected by the virus.

The tests are voluntary for most students, but for winter-athletes and some others, it’s mandatory.

"Our goal is to make sure that we have information that’s accurate and that’s current so we’re doing the PCR tests for our students that participate in what we’re calling close proximity activities,” said Jeff Graham, the CEO of Lorain City Schools. “Whether it's sports or you’re in the high school play or band or those actives where we encourage students to behave in a way that’s inconsistent with what the CDC suggests. So when those things happen we want to make sure we’re keeping people safe.”

The testing is completely free because the district got a gift from an anonymous local partner.

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