New Hampshire Governor Sununu asks for extension of school COVID-19 testing program

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is asking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to extend a program that provides funding for COVID-19 screenings at schools.

The Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Reopening Schools program is scheduled to end in July.

COVID-19 cases have plunged throughout the country. Sununu is asking for a one-year extension of the program, saying it has been “central” to mitigating the impact of the virus on communities.

“This program has helped New Hampshire schools keep their doors open while fostering a safer, healthier return to in-person learning for students and educators alike,” he said Thursday in a letter to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

“New Hampshire schools are already looking ahead to the next calendar year and preparing for future variants that could arise. We should not leave teachers and educators in the lurch by removing the option to receive critical funding that will help support their efforts,” he wrote.

He said the program works because it is “flexible and scalable.” States, school districts, and individual schools can implement testing protocols that meet the specific needs of their community, and can scale the programs up or down based on testing data about transmissibility.

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