Iowa school district begins own COVID-19 testing program

By DAVID PITT
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa’s largest public school system, will offer drive-through COVID-19 testing starting Monday, in an effort to curb rising virus infections since the governor discontinued a statewide testing program. School officials say while students and staff will have priority, the public also may get a test. The district entered a contract with Utah-based Nomi Health to begin offering tests starting Monday. Gov. Kim Reynolds discontinued the widespread Test Iowa program in July saying demand had fallen and vaccines were widely available. But virus cases have surged in the past two months. Since the school year started, the Des Moines district has had 149 positive cases among staff and 654 among students.