More than 1 million COVID-19 tests administered at SUNY campuses
ALBANY, N.Y. » State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras announced that SUNY campuses have just surpassed the one millionth COVID-19 test administered since the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.
Campuses have administered 1,001,367 tests and counting to students, faculty and staff, more than some states, with a positivity rate of 0.53.
In addition to testing numbers, SUNY reports all positive results, as well as quarantining and isolation percentages within its SUNY COVID-19 Case Tracker. SUNY also provides testing data broken out for students and employees, as well as comparative positivity rates at the state, region, county and campus levels.
SUNY publishes daily metrics, as well as 14-day, 7-day, and 3-day rolling positivity rates, which, SUNY-wide, are 0.47, 0.59, and 0.60, respectively, well below state averages. Broken down by students and faculty/staff the positivity rate for students over the past 14 days is 0.58 percent, and faculty and staff 0.14 percent.
SUNY required all students to get pre-tested prior to the start of the spring semester and then at least weekly testing of all students, faculty, and staff weekly who will be on campus, in order to track any potential surges, particularly as that the rate of COVID is higher across the country than when classes began last fall.
“As the SUNY is the largest higher education system, regular COVID testing of our students, faculty, and staff helps us deal swiftly and aggressively with any emerging issues in a targeted way to limit spread and keep campuses safe,” Malatras said. “Hitting one million tests wouldn’t be possible without the researching firepower of SUNY Upstate Medical and Quadrant Biosciences, which gave us the world’s number one ranked saliva test — an easy to administer and less intrusive test — which detects asymptomatic cases.
“Our ability to scale this vital testing across our campuses over the past several months has paid dividends because as I travel to campuses and I meet with our students, they are happy to be back, and they want to keep it that way. Testing is a part of campus life for now, and it provides us with the evidence we need to keep our students safe—our first priority above all else.
“With our additional capacity, SUNY will also continue to help other community partners in need access our saliva test as well.”