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Local school district using new technology to help with COVID-19 contact tracing

MARIETTA, Ga. — Marietta City Schools will use new technology to conduct contact tracing for its students. The students’ ID card paired with technology on school buses will be used to aid the district in keeping the students safe.

“Students will come on to the bus. They’ll get their ID card. It’ll have their name,” said Lance Johnson, assistant transportation director of Marietta City Schools.

Marietta City Schools has 70 buses that will be equipped with the new technology. Students will use their ID cards with a system of scanners to provide information. The bus will track all students who get on and off the bus. Every scan will provide a time, date and location stamp to the district.

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“Those three elements are critical when it comes to identifying possible COVID exposures,” Johnson said.

“It’ll save our staff a lot of time. And more importantly, help us to maintain the accuracy of contact tracing to keep our staff and students safe,” said Chuck Gardner, Marietta City Schools’s chief operating officer. This gives the district all the needed information in real time.

Parents will get a notification on the bus app, already in use, after every scan. This is useful for parents of the more than 4,500 students who ride the district’s buses.