CHLOE KOWALYK
Staff Writer
If you’re a student at Fredonia, you may have heard that new COVID testing protocols will be employed in the upcoming weeks.
Students will now self-administer weekly COVID tests from their homes or dorm rooms.
When students left their pool testing session last week, they were given a test kit and a set of instructions.
Students will self-administer the given tests on every Monday or Tuesday and bring them back to the Steele Hall Fieldhouse, that same day, between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the Fieldhouse, students will scan their FREDcards and verify that all information, including their name, date of birth and the test barcode are correct.
After turning in their tests, students will receive a new test that they should administer the following week.
The regular rules of testing still apply: do not brush your teeth within 3 hours of the test and do not eat, drink or smoke 30 minutes beforehand.
Students should also note that they cannot deliver someone else’s test for them.
Everyone must bring their own test kit back to the fieldhouse.
The Pool Testing Office would like to remind students that they “need to be sure not to misplace their test kit from week to week as there will be a charge to their account if they lose it.”
While this shift in testing protocol may seem sudden, the Pool Testing Office has been planning and anticipating this change for a while.
“The new protocol will allow us to test the same number of people in less than half the time, with roughly half (or fewer) the number of volunteers,” they explain.
This change will give volunteers a chance to get back to their regular jobs and responsibilities while spending less time at the pool testing site.
One student, Matthew Henze, expressed his concerns about the new testing procedure.
“I think it’s ridiculous that they are making us do COVID tests on our own. Some people may not be doing it correctly… if there was a professional at least nearby they could tell us if we were doing something wrong,” he said.
Many other students have had similar concerns, wondering if testing from home may lead to inaccurate results.
The Pool Testing Office refutes, explaining other universities have held pilot studies, which have shown no increase in inaccuracies.
There will also be people at the drop-off site who may ask a few questions to ensure that the students have completed the test properly.
President Stephen Kolison said that the campus has done a great job following guidelines so far.
He cited two reasons: “One, we understand [COVID-19] better, we know how to protect ourselves better and then two, we are all doing our very best.”
Kolison and the rest of the campus staff firmly believe that the weekly testing is keeping students safe by catching cases early on, before someone unknowingly passes it on to someone else.
Andrea Vélez-Davis, a resident assistant in Hemingway Hall, feels that the new testing procedure is a great idea.
“Personally, I think it’s a lot more convenient for students to be able to test themselves in their dorms… I’m hoping that students will be responsible and honest about the samples they’re submitting,” she said.
While the new protocol is more convenient and much quicker, students still need to remain vigilant.
“The good numbers we are receiving are not by magic,” said Kolison.
“It is because everyone is trying their best to stay protected and not to spread anything and everyone is participating in the testing.”
We are already halfway through the semester and the weather is beginning to warm up.
Let’s be sure to continue to follow the COVID-19 guidelines and finish the semester strong.
In that regard, Kolison leaves a message for all students: “Lets not get careless… because if we get careless, all this can be reversed. I’m encouraging all the students [to] keep it up until we get to the finish line.”