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Stanford will test students for the coronavirus every week, regardless of their vaccine status, the university said on Wednesday, making it one of the few campuses in the country to do so.
Citing the continued threat from the highly contagious Delta variant, officials unveiled several new security measures in an email to students ahead of the university’s planned return to campus from August 15.
The school has already demanded face masks and vaccines for all returning students. The new rule requires students who live in housing owned by Stanford or who take classes on campus to take a coronavirus test before school starts and have weekly tests, whether or not they are vaccinated. Results will be provided within 24 hours, depending on the message sent to students.
“We will continually assess these measures and let the entire campus community know if changes are needed,” said Susie Brubaker-Cole, vice-president of student affairs, in the post.
Officials did not say how much the school will pay Color, a health technology company, for the tests that the private university will provide for free.
Stanford’s new budget plan says the campus spent $ 44 million on surveillance tests for the coronavirus last year – when many students, especially undergraduates, were not on campus.
Princeton, Brown and Yale will also require weekly coronavirus testing for vaccinated students, for at least a limited time.
“I really think it’s a good move for Stanford,” said Bailey Vought, 20, a communications major who spent the last year with her family in Oklahoma. “A few of my friends have already texted that they would prefer that to the alternative of not going back.”
Vought had a frightening case of COVID-19 a year ago, in which she briefly lost her sense of taste and smell. She said she didn’t want to go through something like this again.
Vought will not be immediately tested as she will be studying in New York for the first 10 weeks of the academic year.
Nonetheless, she said, “I think most people are just excited to be on campus again, so the pros of that outweigh the cons of the weekly testing,” she said.
Stanford has recorded 270 cumulative confirmed cases of coronavirus among students since March 2020, with seven positive cases currently linked to campus. There were 498 cases among faculty and staff during this period.
The new testing procedures mark a reversal of the school’s original policy for vaccinated students.
Just three weeks ago, officials posted a message saying that “students living on campus or coming to campus frequently this summer are no longer …
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who have been vaccinated can contract and transmit the virus, although infections are more likely in people who are not vaccinated.
Wednesday’s post said Stanford expects a “very small number” of unvaccinated students living on campus.
Students who test positive will need to self-isolate in designated accommodation at Stanford, according to a spokesperson for the university. Students who need to be quarantined but share accommodation with non-family members “may be assigned to a designated quarantine space,” the spokesperson said.
“Our goal is to prevent the spread of disease and to ensure that students feel safe and supported,” the spokesperson said.
Stanford also recommends vaccination and testing for spouses, partners, and children of students. Unvaccinated staff, faculty and postdoctoral students will need to take tests every week, according to the university spokesperson.
Unvaccinated international students will be invited to arrive at Stanford seven days before resuming in-person activities to complete entrance tests, immunization and a restricted activity period.
Aidin Vaziri and Nanette Asimov are the editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected]
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