Kyle Howe
covid tests on campus graphic
NC State is currently providing free COVID-19 testing for anyone affiliated with the University at several on-campus locations. Weekly surveillance testing is mandatory for students who live in on-campus residences, students enrolled in in-person classes and designated employees.
Amy Orders, director of Emergency Management and Mission Continuity (EMMC), said 10,000 to 12,000 tests are administered as a part of the surveillance program each week. According to Orders, the goal of the program is to limit the spread of COVID-19, which caused the closure of on-campus residences and the universitywide shift to online-only education during the fall semester.
“Pervasive surveillance testing, like we’re doing now, wasn’t a high item on the list to do [in the fall],” Orders said. “As we saw in the fall, when you start congregating and you put people in higher density, you’re going to have a quicker community spread. So we made different plans for the spring semester, and instead of it being a voluntary program, across the whole campus, we made it so that select populations we knew would have a heightened risk of exposure would participate.”
Students who live on campus and are required to participate in weekly surveillance testing have been designated specific testing locations and times. More details about individual residences can be found on the Protect the Pack website.
While university administration has created a schedule for testing on campus, students and employees can also get tested at off-campus locations. Students and employees can upload test results from off-campus testing locations through the Healthy Pack Portal to remain in compliance with the weekly surveillance program.
Students living on campus who fail to participate in the weekly surveillance testing program may lose their housing contracts, according to Orders. Also, university employees who have been designated for the program and fail to participate are subject to a human relations review and may potentially lose employment, Orders said.
Testing locations include Clark Dining Hall, Witherspoon Student Center, Dan Allen Parking Deck, Student Health Services at Centennial Campus and Magnolia Cottage at the Avent Ferry Complex. Proof of insurance is not required, but students need to present their ID when they arrive at their on campus testing location.
Todd Becker, the emergency manager of EMMC, emphasized the importance of bringing IDs to testing locations in order to increase efficiency.
“What we’re really trying to do is make sure that you are in and out as quickly as possible,” Becker said. “We don’t want people congregating in line [to] minimize all the risk that goes around with that.”
Students and university employees can expect to receive their results three to five days after testing, but may receive them earlier, according to Jessica Pettersson, a coordinator for student outreach and engagement for Student Health Services.
Students who test positive can report their results through the student self-report form as a part of the University’s contact tracing program. The form contains questions about attendance at events, gatherings and other activities with potential for exposure.
Students who may have been exposed to or infected with COVID-19 should self-isolate and wait five to seven days after exposure before getting a test to reduce the chance of a false negative result. A positive test result exempts a student or university employee from participation in the weekly surveillance program for 90 days following the isolation period. Student Health Services considers a person at risk if they have been within 6 feet of someone with COVID-19 for more than 10-15 minutes.
The University has currently set aside 285 rooms to be used for self-isolation and quarantine. Buildings designated for on-campus self-isolation and quarantine include Avent Ferry Complex, North Hall and E.S. King Village. As of the latest update for the NC State COVID-19 dashboard, there are 231 rooms available.
Further information about NC State’s response to COVID-19 can be found on Protect the Pack’s website.