Saliva-Based, COVID-19 RT-PCR Pooled Screening Strategy to Keep Schools Open

As of March 2020, governments throughout the world implemented business closures, work from home policies, and school closures due to exponential increase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, leaving only essential workers being able to work on site. For most of the children and adolescent school closures during the first lockdown had significant physical and psychosocial consequences. Here, we describe a comprehensive Return to School program based on a behavior safety protocol combined with the use of saliva-based reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) pooled screening technique to keep schools opened.

The program had 2 phases: before school (safety and preparation protocols) and once at school (disease control program: saliva-based RT-PCR pooled screening protocol and contact tracing). Pooling: Aliquots of saliva from 24 individuals were pooled and 1 RT-PCR test was performed. If positive, the initial 24-pool was then retested (12 pools of 2). Individual RT-PCR tests from saliva samples from positive pools of 2 were performed to get an individual diagnosis.

From August 31 until December 20, 2020 (16-wk period) a total of 3 pools, and subsequent 3 individual diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) disease were reported (2 teachers and 1 staff).

Until COVID-19 vaccine can be administered broadly to all-age children, saliva-based RT-PCR pooling testing is the missing piece we were searching for to keep schools opened.