Oregon State University says it will attempt to test its entire student body for COVID-19 before they head home for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The school is inviting students at each of its campuses to be tested, regardless of whether they live in dorms or in the community. OSU spokesman Steve Clark said the university expects to test upwards of ten-thousand students, with results available within 72 hours.
“By providing testing to all students, it enables them to be informed before they travel, that they can communicate with friends and family or community members when they arrive at their home communities,” he said.
Clark said most students won’t have a need to return to campus until the new year, since all remaining coursework in the fall term, as well as finals, will be held online. He said the university is asking students to limit social gatherings while they’re home.
“Our strongest encouragement is that all of our students, when they travel for Thanksgiving, they remain in that community that they have traveled to until the start of January and the start of winter term," he said. "And in that time when they're away from the university campus, we ask them basically to remain sequestered."
Clark said the upcoming winter term, which starts in January, will look much like the fall term in terms of most classes being held remotely.
"Quite frankly, until there's a vaccine that's distributed widely throughout the United States, in particular to young people of college age, we expect an emphasis on remote eduction," he said.
