MADISON, Wis. — University of Wisconsin-Madison officials plan to expand COVID-19 testing for students and staff in the spring semester as they prepare for another semester of hybrid instruction amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
To allow for more frequent testing, the university is partnering with Shield T3, which is a subsidiary of the University of Illinois System. Shield T3 was formed in an effort to expand the reach of a rapid saliva-based PCR coronavirus test that was created at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“We are proud to partner with Shield T3 to offer additional and more frequent COVID-19 testing to our employees and students,” UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “We know that our testing has and will continue to play an important role in limiting disease spread.”
The partnership with Shield T3 will provide UW-Madison with up to 10,000 additional tests per day, according to a news release. University officials plan to tests all undergraduate students living in Madison twice per week.
Employees and graduate students working on or visiting the UW-Madison campus will be required to get tested regularly.
“To date, our campus safety protocols have helped ensure COVID-19 has not spread in spaces like classrooms and laboratories,” Provost Karl Scholz said. “With increased testing and the ability to ensure our employees and students are getting tested regularly, we feel confident about our path forward for the spring semester.”
University officials said they plan to establish multiple new testing sites on campus to help collect saliva samples needed for the new rapid tests.
The partnership with Shield T3 will also give UW-Madison access to a mobile app that will be used to share test result information, officials said.
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