Here’s Penn State’s detailed COVID-19 testing plan for the spring semester
Although Penn State will not resume in-person instruction until Feb. 15, online classes for the spring semester started Tuesday — so the university released a more detailed look at its COVID-19 testing plans Monday.
Although many pieces of the overall plan have been announced over the last two months, Monday’s overview offered some new specifics while confirming others. Surveillance testing will be increased to 2% daily across all campuses (compared to about 1% last semester), for instance, while all students who return to Centre County next month must first test negative, at least 72 hours prior to arriving on campus.
“The spring semester testing strategy is built on the testing plan we implemented in the fall, but we have expanded it based on what we learned in the fall semester and changes we made as we responded to the pandemic,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a written statement.
Here’s a closer look at the full plan:
Remote-period testing
Remote instruction resumed Tuesday and will continue through Feb. 12. During that time, the few students living on campus in residence halls must be tested weekly at the Hintz Family Alumni Center.
According to the university, those students will receive a weekly email reminder of the tests.
For students living off-campus who may have already arrived in town, such testing cannot be made mandatory — but Penn State is “strongly” encouraging those students to take regular advantage of voluntary testing.
Local off-campus students can be tested by walking up to the alumni center between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on any weekday except Thursday, through Feb. 12. Employees in the university’s “Return to Work” database can also use walk-up testing but are encouraged to instead order a Vault Health mail-in test kit.
Pre-arrival testing/Retesting
In the fall, about a quarter of the student population was tested pre-arrival. In the spring, before in-person instruction starts next month, all students will be tested pre-arrival — a move championed by various student and faculty groups — and then retested within two weeks.
All students living in Centre County are required to have a negative COVID-19 test on file at least 72 hours prior to returning to campus for in-person instruction Feb. 15. The only students who don’t require a negative test are those who tested positive within the last 90 days. (A recent study suggests reinfection can only re-occur after about five months.)
Students will be given self-test kits, much like the fall, and can log in to the “Know Your Status” Portal for more information. The self-test kits can also be ordered through there, and students should request the kits at least two weeks prior to arrival.
From Feb. 15-26, all Penn State students in Centre County — even those taking a fully remote courseload — will be required to take another COVID-19 test in Room 126 of the White Building. Students will receive an email so they can register for the mandatory tests, which will be conducted seven days a week.
Those who test positive will be isolated, and the contact tracing process will be initiated.
Testing during in-person instruction
When in-person classes resume Feb. 15, more testing will become available:
- Symptomatic students: Students who show COVID-19 symptoms should schedule testing appointments via myUHS and not show up to walk-up testing so they don’t cause further infections.
- Walk-up testing (asymptomatic students/employees): Walk-up testing at the alumni center and Pegula Ice Arena will be available both for students who are identified during the contact-tracing process and those who believe they came in close contact with someone who tested positive. (Like the current policy, employees can also use walk-up testing but are instead encouraged to order a self-test kit.)
- Surveillance testing: Starting March 1 for students — since all students will be retested through Feb. 26 — daily surveillance testing will resume for about 2% of the on-campus population across all campuses. That simply means a small number of students (and employees) will be randomly tested every day. Daily surveillance testing for employees will resume Feb. 15, and tests for both students and employees will be held at the Mount Nittany Club in Beaver Stadium and at 101 N. Atherton St., the site of the former FedEx Office.
For more information on Penn State’s plan, check out the university’s official coronavirus website at virusinfo.psu.edu/testing-support.
