Updated Jan. 7 at 8:00 P.M.
To prepare for in-person classes scheduled to start on Tuesday, Jan. 18, UP is requiring that most students get tested by the end of next week, Fr. John Donato, Vice President for Student Affairs, said in an email to UP undergraduates.
From Dec. 27 through Jan. 2, 21 positive COVID-19 cases were reported to the Pilots Prevent dashboard. Most students have not yet returned to campus.
The mass COVID-19 testing allows UP to gather information to decide if they can safely return to in-person instruction.
Students who do not feel sick and have not tested positive in the past 90 days are required to test for COVID-19 between Wednesday, Jan. 12 and Friday, Jan. 14. Last semester, there were 44 total confirmed COVID-19 cases, with nine, the most of any week, coming the first week of classes.
UP has increased their on-campus isolation space to 114 beds for this semester, which is up from 50 last semester, Donato said in an email to The Beacon.
Free COVID-19 self tests can be picked up at the Chiles Center Box Office and Merlo Field Box Office from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Jan 12 through Jan. 14, the email said. Help with testing will be offered at the Etzel Field Box Office or through emailing pilotsprevent@up.edu.
After a student picks up their self test, they should log into emed.com to take the proctored test. More information will be provided with the test kit. After the test, upload the results to the link provided with the test kit.
Those who feel sick should make an appointment with the Health and Counseling Center at 503-943-7134, rather than picking up a test from one of the testing locations.
Those who have tested positive in the last 90 days will not need to take a test. Instead, they should fill out an online form to let UP know.
“If a student is returning to campus late because they tested positive for COVID they do not need to participate in the testing event next week,” Donato said in an email to The Beacon. “They should report their recent result using the link provided (form).”
“If a student returns to campus late because they are ill with something other than COVID-19, they should schedule a COVID test off campus 3-5 days after arrival in Portland,” Donato added.
William Seekamp is the News and Managing Editor of The Beacon. He can be reached at Seekamp22@up.edu
