As Northeastern welcomes students back to campus this fall, the university is conducting frequent testing of all students, faculty, staff, and contract workers to help control the spread of SARS CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
That massive operation, which began on Monday and has already tested more than 2,500 people, will be a crucial surveillance tool to monitor the health of everyone at Northeastern. With some exceptions, most students will need to get re-tested every five days. Faculty, staff, and contract workers will be tested on a seven-day cycle. By Aug. 29, when students start to move back to campus, the university expects to be able to test 5,000 people a day.
By screening everyone regularly and rapidly, Northeastern’s testing operation will be able to identify cases even before a person shows symptoms of being sick.
