Carl O’Donnell and Nandita Bose

WASHINGTON (Reuters).-The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has unveiled a new strategy, “test to-stay,” that allows non-vaccinated students to continue attending school despite being exposed to the coronavirus. Agency Director Rochelle Wilensky announced Friday.

Walensky told a press conference that if the children are exposed to certain conditions and they continue to test positive, then they can remain at school.

One state is already encouraging schools to implement “test to stay” strategies to ensure that more students are in the classroom.

Walensky explained that test-to-stay strategies require schools to test students two times per week.

As the Omicron variant spreads in America, the new guidelines are necessary. There have been cases in more than 40 states, 75 countries and territories of this new virus. It is highly contagious.

Walensky explained that she expects it to overtake other strains in the United States in the coming weeks.

Although some data suggests that Omicron cases are more severe than previous variants, Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. infectious diseases expert said that the severity of this new variant remains “still up in air.”

Fauci claimed that Omicron is more protected when third shots are administered with COVID-19 vaccines. Fauci said that there is no consensus on whether people should be vaccinated sooner than six months following their first inoculations.