Comment on MDI schools will test staff for COVID-19 as a barometer for how the virus is spreading

The school system on Mount Desert Island will become one of the first public school districts in Maine to regularly test employees for the coronavirus. The testing, which will start in early December as the state and Hancock County are seeing a surge in new cases, will serve as a barometer for how actively the virus is spreading in the communities the school system serves. Working with Mount Desert Island Hospital, the Mount Desert Island Regional School System will soon begin testing 300 employees who work with students — such as teachers, food service workers and bus drivers — to detect any existing cases and establish a baseline for ongoing testing, according to Superintendent Marc Gousse. After that, the school system will choose about 100 staff members to test twice a week until the end of the school year, in June 2021, Gousse said.