Ginkgo and Helix Partner on Pooled COVID Testing for Schools The biotechnology company Ginkgo, in partnership with the diagnostics company Helix and its automated lab, aims to provide pooled COVID-19 testing programs in 2,000 school districts on the West Coast. TNS As millions of K-12 students return to in-person learning, school districts across the country have looked to pooled testing as a cost-effective means of monitoring the deadly virus. The method – which minimizes the number of tests by using combined samples, and only testing individuals if a combined sample turns out positive – has been touted by officials and test providers as the most feasible way for schools with limited resources to test large numbers of teachers and students.