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Retrieved from Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill on August 19, 2020
Higher Ed Dive
College health association recommends twice-weekly coronavirus testing
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Jan. 4, 2021
Dive Brief:
Colleges and universities should test students and employees for the
coronavirus twice a week, according to the American College Health
Association's latest recommendations.
Test results should be available within 24 to 48 hours, the association
said. Robust testing is key and should not be replaced by tactics such
as screening wastewater for the virus, it noted.
The frequency and affordability of coronavirus testing has been a major
focus of the discussion around colleges' spring plans. Paying for these
measures could prove difficult for some institutions.
Dive Insight:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided
inconsistent testing guidance to colleges. The CDC initially stated
last summer that only individuals who displayed symptoms of the virus,
or those who came in contact with it, may need to be screened. It since
changed its stance, saying testing students and employees upon their
return to campus, and at intervals after that, could also be valuable.
It has never recommended universal testing.
ACHA drew attention to the updated CDC guidance in its missive
published in late December. And it pointed out that students infected
with the virus are often asymptomatic. Schools then should employ
"[m]ultilayered mitigation strategies with universal masking, physical
distancing of 6 feet or more, and good hand hygiene," along with
"robust testing, contact tracing, and expeditious isolation and
quarantine processes" to stem the virus's spread, ACHA said.
A recent study of campuses' virus mitigation efforts found that
preventing one infection with "extensive" social distancing and
mask-wearing cost $170. Adding "routine" laboratory testing raised the
cost to between $2,010 and $17,210 per infection prevented, according
to the study.
About 30 U.S. colleges use wastewater detection. However, the ACHA
noted its limitations. A positive wastewater test indicates the
presence of coronavirus, but it can't be used to gauge how many people
are infected. Also, not every person who contracts the virus will have
it present in their stool, or they may no longer be contagious.
Despite possible cost limitations, several institutions, especially
some large public universities, intend to beef up coronavirus testing
this spring. Among them are the University of Florida, the University
of South Carolina and the University of North Carolina System.
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