With the recent surge of Covid cases and new strains of the virus emerging across the nation, Lamar has begun free on campus testing as a part of a district-wide effort to keep Covid cases across HISD schools to a minimum. 

Testing is held every Thursday morning in the athletic hall. Each test is a nasal swab administered by the school nurse, with about a 24 hour turnaround for results.

“It (testing) definitely helps because I don’t only want my family to be safe, but also my friends and teachers,” junior Sofia Munoz said.

The district-wide push for safer and stricter Covid regulations was enacted after an influx of cases following the return from winter break. 

Anyone who wants to sign up for a test can click the link in an email sent out by Ms. Graves or go to the nurse’s office and scan the QR code. Once signed up for testing, students will be pulled from one of their Thursday morning classes for optional weekly testing.

“Once you sign up, we send for you every week, and if you don’t want to be tested that week, you just don’t show up that day,” Sharen Forbes, one of the testing coordinators said.

Students and staff that want to sign up for free testing should see Ms. Forbes in the athletic hall. In order for students to sign up, you will need a parent or guardians’ consent and paperwork filled out as per the QR code in the nurse’s office.

Campus Covid testing is an extremely important part of contact tracing, fighting covid in our schools, and stopping the spread all together.