COLLEGE STATION, TX — On March 15, Texas A&M Universityannounced a mandatory student testing program in the Bryan-College Station area, which will be taking place starting Tuesday, March 23.
According to their news release, it currently involves the following three groups:
- March 23-24: All students residing in university housing on the B-CS campus to test for COVID-19.
- March 25-29: All student employees working on the B-CS campus and nearby university Health Science Center buildings to test for COVID-19.
- March 25-29: All students in courses that are only offered face-to-face at the campus to test for COVID-19.
At this time, students are asked to check the COVID-19 Testing Locations Page for extended hours and drive-thru options to be added for those dates.
“We are seeing a dramatic uptick at some campuses nationally and want to do all we can to reduce risk of similar spread here,” said Shawn Gibbs, dean of the School of Public Health at Texas A&M and COVID-19 lead for the university. “One more round of mandatory testing this semester will help us quickly isolate students, slow spread, increase our odds for in-person athletic events, The Big Event, graduation ceremonies, and other student activities.”
In the recent past, this strategy has aided Texas A&M with past upticks after major holidays such as Halloween. Now, university officials are hoping it'll mitigate any COVID-19 spreading related to St. Patrick's Day weekend.
What are some things I should know before getting tested?
- Aggies should access their individual Testing Portal through Howdy before testing. On the day of testing, students must complete a brief online survey before going to the test site.
- COVID-19 testing locations are identified on our, available to read right here!
- Students shall take the Texas A&M Test (the “spit” test), except those who have symptoms, feel ill, or may have been exposed to COVID-19, who should test with Curative kiosks (the “swab” test) or at the A.P. Beutel Health Center.
- Students who can document that they tested positive for COVID-19 on or after Jan. 1, 2021, are not required to take the test.
- Aggies who fall into more than one of the three testing groups (such as if you live on campus and work on campus) should test during the earliest available testing window.
- Students meeting the criteria set above who fail to test may be referred to the student conduct office.
- Students not in these populations are not required to test at this time. However, we strongly encourage and ask them to do so.
Additionally, local Aggies at other campuses/sites beyond the Bryan-College Station campus will receive guidance from site leadership regarding site-specific protocols and testing guidance.