School district receives COVID-19 rapid test shipment.

Without lab processing the swab test produces results in minutes, at which point an infected teacher or student could be sent home and contact tracing could begin.

GREENWICH — A supply of rapid COVID-19 tests provided by the state arrived Wednesday morning at Greenwich High School.

In total, Greenwich Public Schools applied for and received a shipment of 120 Abbott BinaxNOW rapid antigen testing kits that can be used district-wide beginning next week, according to Board of Education communications liaison Jonathan Supranowitz.

The Connecticut Army National Guard delivered the kits.

The kits are not meant for community-wide testing, Supranowitz said. They are specifically for symptomatic individuals in schools and can help the district expedite the contact-tracing process and limit exposure to COVID-19.

“If a teacher is sitting in class and starts getting the sniffles, or doesn’t feel well, they could go down to the nurse’s office and get the antigen test,” he said. “And within a few minutes, they have results.”

He stressed that any student or staff member with COVID-19 symptoms should stay home from school. But the BinaxNOW test is for cases in which the onset of symptoms occurs during a school day.

Without lab processing, the swab test produces results in minutes, at which point, an infected teacher or student could be sent home and contact tracing could begin. If a symptomatic individual tests positive, then per state recommendations, the district would urge a follow-up

PCR test.

The district’s nursing staff was trained Wednesday on how to administer the test, Supranowitz said. The test will first be available to symptomatic teachers starting Monday and then symptomatic students.

The kits are part of a state-funded initiative to bring more rapid testing to Connecticut schools. The program was piloted this fall in Middletown and since then it has been made available to the rest of the state’s public school districts. Prior to that, the

BinaxNOW tests were used by Connecticut universities, Gov. Ned Lamont said in November.

“The earlier we’re able to track this, the more we can contain it. The earlier we’re able to track it, you’ve been in contact with fewer people. It makes the trace easier,” Lamont said.

Supranowitz said the district planned to keep the tests in stock as they’re available.