Share this article
Share this article
WASHINGTON, April 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation announces a $1.49 million grant to the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area to expand access to rapid-result Covid-19 testing to support K-12 schools reopening in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Developed by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, this innovative, but easy-to-implement saliva-based Covid-19 testing program, led by a coalition of Consortium universities, has been up and running in all 26 high schools in the Baltimore City Public Schools system since March 15.
The grant from The Rockefeller Foundation will support the Consortium testing program in Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) and DC Public Charter Schools. Initial results of the weekly asymptomatic testing program in use in City Schools have found a .95% test positivity rate – well below the 5.6% positivity rate in Baltimore City overall – while increasing confidence among teachers, parents, and students to return to the classroom.