UConn announces COVID- 19 testing strategy for fall semester

STORRS — The University of Connecticut said

Saturday that residential students will return to its campuses two weeks before the first day of fall classes to be tested for COVID- 19 and quarantined on campus.

The university outlined its testing strategy for the fall semester with different rules depending on whether students and faculty will be on campus. For instance, the university said it is arranging for testing for residential students during check- ins. Off- campus students and faculty involved only in online classes will not be tested.

“Our approach to testing for our community is straightforward: if a student or employee is coming to our campuses because they have to be there, they should be tested,“UConn said on Twitter .

Students commuting to campus for in- person classes are encouraged to submit proof of a negative test result obtained within two weeks of the start of the fall semester on Aug. 31. The university will provide testing to those commuter students who don’t obtain a test on their own.

“There is not a ‘ onesize- fits- all’ approach to accomplishing this, so the university will utilize different avenues and strategies,” the school said in a tweet.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.