General Discussion

mucifer

(23,569 posts) Sat Aug 22, 2020, 05:23 AM Aug 2020

All University of Illinois Students and Staff Being Covid Tested Twice a Week

Chicago Tribune:

COVID-19 cases in the Urbana-Champaign area will rise as college students flock back to campus for the fall semester, but the University of Illinois says it’s prepared to handle the influx with quick saliva-based tests and quarantining procedures.

With move-in beginning this week, the university conducted more than 30,000 saliva tests on students, faculty and staff between Monday and Thursday and identified about 100 positive cases, according to Martin Burke, a chemistry professor spearheading the testing program.

All eyes are on the U. of I. as it attempts to do what other large universities have struggled to accomplish in the last few weeks: reopen campus, fill dorms and offer face-to-face classes without seeing infections surge among students.

The saliva test at the heart of the strategy — which students must undergo twice a week — received an Emergency Use Authorization from the federal government Wednesday and could be a game changer in the fight against COVID-19, Illinois officials have said.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-covid-19-university-of-illinois-testing-fall-semester-20200821-amrmeeuhfbcnld5bic2mqia6be-story.html

I have been hearing a lot about this exciting test. It's supposed to be very accurate and it doesn't have the high cost hard to obtain reagents. U of I invented the test and that's why they can get a lot of tests out to their people. U of I invested 6 million dollars into testing their students and staff. This includes an app that notifies students if they are positive and literally locks them out of classes if they try to enter. Governor Pritzker is hoping this can be a game changer in our state and nationwide to help control the virus.