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| September 20, 2021 |
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Dear Santa Clara University Community, As we begin the fall quarter, we are pleased to share that the COVID-19 vaccination rate in the campus community is currently greater than 97% across our students, faculty and staff. We are grateful for everyone’s efforts in helping our community meet this important health and safety milestone. We also share some challenging news on our COVID testing program. Although test collection on campus has gone smoothly, with over 4700 samples gathered through Sunday of Welcome Weekend, our testing lab vendor (Color) has been unable to provide us with the expected 24-36 hour results turnaround. Color has been overwhelmed with tests coming in from K-12 schools and many institutions of higher education across California and the West. At present, we are experiencing a 3-day turnaround for results. We have seen two positive cases among the greater than 600 test results from students on Wednesday and Thursday, but we do not have all the data we need. Therefore it is critical that students continue as planned with their entry testing (3 tests in the first 2 weeks for undergraduates, and 2 in the first 2 weeks for graduate students). We expect test turnaround time to accelerate significantly this week, and students should follow the isolation and quarantine guidelines if they test positive. Undergraduates are encouraged to test in residence halls, or to pick up kits and drop off samples at the Benson information desk. For faculty, staff, and graduate students, test kit distribution and collection bins are now available in the lobbies of 6 academic buildings:
For up-to-date information on our testing program including instructions (and a video) on how to self-administer the test, please visit the testing protocol website on Prepared SCU. We want to remind you that testing is only one layer of our COVID defenses. Please continue to wear masks indoors, practice good hygiene, and avoid large gatherings if possible. If you experience potential COVID symptoms, please self-isolate and seek testing through our campus testing resources. By taking these precautions, we can greatly reduce the risk of transmission on campus. Thank you for your patience and support in keeping our Santa Clara community safe and healthy.
Sam Florio and Craig Stephens
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