Testing and Contact Tracing

 Before Returning to Campus

Timeline for Taking and Submitting Your COVID-19 Pre-Arrival Test

You should have already ordered and received your at-home test kit from Quest Diagnostics, based on the instructions we provided in our December 19 communication to you (available below). If you have not ordered your test, please do so immediately, as it takes 3-4 days on average to receive the kit after ordering.

The below table notes when you should take your at-home COVID-19 test based upon your return-to-campus date. All students living off campus in non-QU housing should follow the timeline for “commuters.” M1 and M2 students received a separate communication from their school with information on testing times and requirements. It is critical you follow these timelines to ensure sufficient time for your test to be received and analyzed by Quest, and for Quinnipiac to then approve your return to campus.

Upon returning to Quinnipiac, students will be tested by the university through its on-campus testing program before attending in-person classes. Students will receive an email from QU with confirmation of their assigned on-campus testing dates.

Have questions about getting your COVID-19 pre-arrival test?
Review our Frequently Asked Questions for important information and deadlines about both the Quest pre-arrival test and submitting your own COVID-19 test if you choose not to use Quest.

Pre-arrival testing is required before a student can be cleared to move into their assigned housing, access our campuses, or engage in any in-person instruction. Questions about the student testing plan should be emailed to COVIDPretest@qu.edu

 Upon Returning to Campus

Regardless of whether a student lives in university housing or off-campus housing, they are expected to limit their activities and movement outside their living unit upon return during our campus containment period. The university has partnered with the Broad Institute, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based genomic research center, to perform all of Quinnipiac's on-campus testing. This will be a non-invasive nasal swab test.

 Throughout the Spring Semester

Targeted, weekly testing of asymptomatic students will be conducted throughout the Spring semester. This is among the most important health measures we must sustain throughout the spring to protect our community, in addition to wearing face coverings and physical distancing.

Your participation is essential! This testing will help us effectively monitor for – and quickly mitigate – the spread of COVID-19 on our campuses. Here is a brief overview of how the weekly testing program works:

• Ongoing testing – All undergraduates (residential and non-residential) will be tested every week through the end of the semester. A portion of graduate students will be selected for weekly sample testing. This semester, if you miss your assigned on-campus testing appointment, you will be denied access to all university facilities and in-person classes; residential students will have 48 hours to get their own off-campus test or will be removed from QU housing. See the testing schedule
• Using a custom testing model – A team of Quinnipiac faculty has built a custom testing model tailored to our QU community. This means each week’s sample will intentionally include students in the testing pool from every residence hall and QU-owned house; every campus; undergraduate and graduate; on campus and off campus. This produces a highly representative testing sample that maximizes our ability to look for early signals of COVID-19 in specific areas of our campuses and student populations.
• Watch your email – Students who have been selected to participate in each week’s sample testing will receive an email from COVIDoncampustest@qu.edu They can participate in either of the two testing days offered. Testing is convenient, takes five minutes on average, and is held in Burt Kahn Court. Students may be selected more than once throughout the semester. 
• Testing is mandatory – If you receive an appointment for the weekly testing, you must attend. Ignoring these testing clinics increases the risk of COVID-19 spreading undetected – and shortening our on-campus experience.

Do your part to protect our community. Support our weekly COVID-19 testing and help us maintain a healthy and safe QU community.

Questions about the student testing plan should be emailed to our online Support Center at COVID19SupportCenter@qu.edu

1. How do we determine if you are a contact who may be at risk?
   To be considered a contact by the Quinnipiack Valley Health District and the CDC, a person needs to have been within 6 feet of the positive or presumed positive case for more than 15 minutes. Our contact tracing team then performs additional evaluation to confirm a true exposure, which is why it is important to practice the physical distancing and mask-wearing protocols we have established, and our classrooms and facilities have all been modified to space people apart from each other.
   
   
2. Is contact tracing only used after a person tests positive for COVID-19?
   Quinnipiac is being extra cautious and will deploy contact tracing both when an individual is confirmed positive and if an individual has reported symptoms but their test result is not yet available. This includes symptoms reported through the QU symptom checking app. As a result, a call from a contact tracer does not necessarily mean you have been exposed to a positive COVID-19 case. Given the abundance of caution we’re exercising, there will be situations in which a student ultimately is found to have a common cold or other illness, but we will ask those individuals and their contacts to quarantine until we have a confirmed negative COVID-19 test.
   
   
3. What happens if I’m confirmed as a contact of a possible COVID-19 case?
   Residential students will be asked to move into the university’s designated quarantine housing and non-residential students will be asked to quarantine in their off-campus housing. Students also have the option to quarantine at home, if feasible. Student Health Services will assist with the transition into quarantine and provide more detailed information on the quarantine process and necessary health protocols. Students will be released from quarantine as soon as a confirmed negative test result is received from the presumed case. If a positive case is confirmed, contacts will be required to remain in quarantine for 14 days.
   
   
4. Will professors be notified when students move into quarantine or isolation?
   Professors will not be notified. Following FERPA, best practices and advice from the local health department and CDC, we must limit personally identifying information about positive cases and contacts to protect individuals’ privacy and avoid potential stigma. Students should notify their professors that they will be attending class remotely if the class requires in-person attendance, but it is at their discretion whether they want to mention that they’ve been moved into quarantine housing. We have staff dedicated to assisting our students in quarantine and isolation, and those students will check in daily and be monitored for any changes in their health.
   
   If a student is too ill to participate in classes, Student Health Services will provide its standard notification excusing the student from classes for medical reasons. We are working with dean’s offices on notification processes for students in a clinical placement or lab course who need to quarantine, as well as documentation that will be used to confirm those students are cleared with a negative test to return to their clinical assignment.
   
   
5. If a contact was in a classroom, does a professor need to request the room be cleaned?
   No, our facilities department is already integrated into our contact tracing processes and will be notified if a classroom needs to be disinfected. In addition, as part of our standard cleaning protocols this semester, classrooms are disinfected every weekday morning before the start of classes, and students and faculty are expected to spray and wipe down desks and surfaces at the end of each class using the disinfectant product provided in every classroom.

If you have more questions about contact tracing, please contact the leaders of Quinnipiac’s contact tracing team, Jason Burke (jason.burke@qu.edu) and Wendy Sewack (wendy.sewack@qu.edu).

You may also review the CDC’s extensive resources and information about contact tracing and how it helps slow the spread of the virus.