Some of the students have since tested negative; RIDOH says positive is positive

In the three days since nine second graders at Meadowbrook Farms got positive results from a round of routine asymptomatic testing, there are no additional cases and the picture of where these students may have contracted the virus remains unclear.

According to a parent of one of the students, 6 of the 9 have since taken a PCR test and were found to be negative for COVID-19. The tests given as part of the school district’s asymptomatic program are rapid-result Binaxnow tests. The parent’s child was among those who tested negative with the PCR. All four family members have been tested since Tuesday and all have come back negative.

The negative tests, however, do not change the state’s COVID-19 guidelines, which dictate a 10-day isolation for the student who tested positive and quarantine for the rest of the family.

“These BinaxNOW positives are considered positives,” said Dept. of Health spokesman Joseph Wendelken. “The specificity of these tests is considered high, meaning their accuracy levels are high.” 

Wendelken said RIDOH does not recommend getting a “confirmatory PCR test,” adding, “A negative PCR test does not always mean that a person did not have infection, and could reflect other variables such as the type of specimen collected and the timing (for example, a specimen being collected on a different day).”

Wendelken said no determination had yet been made regarding where the children could have caught the virus. According to Supt. Alexis Meyer, the district sent all the contact info to RIDOH which is conducting the investigation. 

The parent we talked with said they were asked about the child’s interactions on Sunday and Monday. 

“Sunday we had the snow and we stayed home,” the parent said. “Monday was school, other than that, there was nothing.”