Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, bets on mass testing to reopen schools

A medical worker takes a blood sample for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test from student Amanda Chaves Maia, 14, with a Corinthians soccer team tattoo on her arm, at a school in Sao Paulo, Brazil October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Sao Paulo began a mass COVID-19 testing program on Thursday for public school employees and students, as Brazil's largest city seeks to edge back to normalcy even as Brazil continues to report tens of thousands of additional coronavirus cases daily.

The city is planning to test some 777,000 people, including students and teachers, in three phases, a move officials hope will allow the megalopolis to restart in-person classes. In the first phase, 193,000 people will be tested.