USD moves to weekly COVID-19 testing
Students react to USD’s new COVID-19 testing protocol
Karisa Kampbell / Asst. News Editor
As a result of the spike in COVID-19 cases at the beginning of the semester, USD is now requiring all students to return back to weekly COVID-19 testing, as was required the first couple of weeks of the spring semester. An email sent by Donald Godwin, Ph.D., assistant vice president and dean of students, on Feb.18 announced a new testing protocol that included a return to weekly testing in order to prevent large spikes in COVID-19 cases. The new testing protocol also now requires students who do not live on campus but plan to visit campus to get tested weekly as well.
“Due to the surge of positive COVID-19 cases among our students, we will now begin testing on a weekly basis through Spring Break,” Godwin said. “Weekly testing is required for all students who may be on campus this spring — whether daily or infrequently.”
Many students have expressed how they feel this new testing protocol is a good thing and believe that weekly testing will help USD’s COVID-19 numbers decrease. First-year student Cole Strazzara believes that weekly testing will greatly help reduce COVID-19 case numbers on campus, as well as ease students’ worries about COVID-19 on campus.
“I definitely think that (weekly testing) is better than the two week testing,” Strazzara said. “I think that this is a necessity on campus so that they can catch things early and stop the spread.”
However, other students have expressed how they fear that moving to weekly testing alone is not the answer to stopping the surge of numbers on campus. First-year student Paul Tuft voiced some of his concerns.
“There’s a lot more that the university could be doing to stop COVID on campus,” Tuft said. “USD knows that the spike in cases is from parties, but it seems they haven’t done anything about it. I don’t think that weekly testing is going to stop kids from going to parties.”
Additionally, in the email sent out by Godwin, it states that “students who have tested positive are exempt from testing for 90 days from the date of the previous positive test.” First-year student Jane Miller commented on how she fears this might not help the situation.
“I think that choice is interesting,” Miller said. “I’m afraid that those people (who tested positive) are going to see this as a free pass to do whatever.”
Many students view weekly testing overall to be a beneficial thing that will help keep the USD campus community safe from another COVID-19 surge. While this is only said to be a temporary measure until spring break, if this plan proves to be effective it might become the new normal for USD students through the spring semester.