MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin System announced Friday plans for increased COVID-19 testing on all UW system campuses, except UW-Madison which will operate under its own plan.
According to the new plan, all undergraduate students who live in university housing will be tested for COVID-19 at least once per week in during the 2021 spring semester. Students who live off campus, plus faculty and staff, will be tested at least once every two weeks.
“Frequent testing is critical to minimizing the spread of COVID-19,” Thompson said. “We have demonstrated at our universities, where the positivity rate has hovered around 3 percent for weeks, that routine testing is a difference maker. The UW System’s testing program has been pivotal toward ensuring a successful in-person fall semester, and we will do even more this spring given how well it has gone.”
In an email sent to students Friday, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced that all undergraduate students living in the Madison area will be required to get tested twice a week.
Blank said testing is mandatory if students are visiting campus for class or to use university facilities.
“The new measures, which increase the scope and frequency of testing, are an expectation for all students and represent a significant change from the fall semester,” Blank said in the email. “Proof of recent negative test results will be needed in order to access campus facilities and services.”
UW-Madison officials said they plan to launch a smartphone app in January to serve as a virtual badge that will share information about testing, provide test results and highlight other health resources.
According to the email sent to students, the app will also track if students are up-to-date on their required testing.
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