The program was implemented to reduce pressure on other testing sites. The program at Cornell is designed to test people when they arrive on campus, as well as to test people who feel ill or who have been exposed to COVID-19. This testing will be done in addition to surveillance testing; all testing will be done in collaboration with Cayuga Medical Center and Tompkins County Health Department.

It was noted that Cornell has a low prevalence of COVID-19 on campus: 0.2 percent of those tested have been positive for COVID-19. This is significantly lower than the 1.1 percent of people in New York who have tested positive.

Cornell plans to use the lab to test students once or twice per week. It is unclear if the lab will test people who are not students at the University. If students test positive for COVID-19, the university will work with the Tompkins County Health Department to assist with contact tracing and quarantining.

The nasopharyngeal swab will be used for arrival testing, but surveillance testing will use front-of-nostril samples. This type of testing is less invasive and can be used to test a high volume of samples quickly.

Read more at the Cornell Daily Sun.

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