The University of Virginia emailed students Thursday to clarify public health measures for Fall 2020, when students will return to Grounds for a limited in-person semester.
The newest information from the email includes a detailed plan for testing students for COVID-19, both before and during the semester.
The University said they are working with a 3rd-party vendor to send PCR tests to students’ homes before the semester begins.
Students will be required to test negative for the virus before they can return to Grounds, and any student who tests positive will have to quarantine for at least 10 days before returning.
Information on these tests will be sent out to students in “the coming weeks.”
There will also be ramped up testing, for both symptomatic and asymptomatic members of the community, throughout the semester.
“UVA has plans to isolate students living on Grounds who test positive for the virus,” the email said, “and to quarantine students living on Grounds who have been exposed to someone with a positive diagnosis of COVID-19.”
The University also clarified other public health measures for the fall, including a requirement for all students to wear face masks and maintain six feet of distance from other people when in public.
UVA previously announced that all students and faculty will receive personal protective equipment, including masks, when they return to Grounds.
The University is creating an app called “HOOS Health Check,” through which students, faculty and staff will be required to submit a daily symptom check.
There will also be 3,600 hand-sanitizing stations distributed throughout Grounds and cleaning will be increased to meet new health standards.
“We will all have a responsibility to comply with public health measures that prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Liz Magill, provost and chair of the Fall 2020 committee, said in the email. “Every member of the UVA community will be accountable for following these practices both on and off Grounds.”
You can read the details of these health measures here.
