Pittsburgh Review

University of Pittsburgh issued the following announcement on Sept. 11.

You open your inbox and see you’ve gotten an email from the CMRO, also known as the COVID-19 Medical Response Office, that says “You have been randomly selected to get tested as part of Pitt’s COVID-19 surveillance testing program.”

Don’t worry; you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s all a part of the plan—even if the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t. Participating in the testing is a critical part of Pitt’s comprehensive, scientifically designed program to help keep the entire community safe.

By randomly selecting and testing a statistically predetermined subset of students—up to 250 per test date on the Pittsburgh campus—the University is working to monitor and contain the spread of COVID-19 on and off campus. During move-in, which began Aug. 11, almost 10% of students were tested with more testing in progress as the term continues. That early surveillance testing indicated a low prevalence of the virus among asymptomatic students.

Perhaps you’ve seen that short line in front of the arched yellow sculpture, “Light Up,” on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Since Aug. 12, University staff and medical student volunteers have been guiding students through the self-administered COVID-19 nasal swab test at the outdoor testing site between Wesley W. Posvar Hall and Hillman Library.

What under normal circumstances might lead to a free T-shirt or slice of pizza instead will hopefully lead you to something that, while perhaps not instantly gratifying, is considerably more rewarding in the long-run: a healthy on-campus experience. Every individual can do their part by taking part.

Testing only takes about 15 minutes and, unlike the original COVID-19 test you might have heard about in the spring, this test requires little to no discomfort. All you need to do is schedule a time to do the test (per the email’s PittSwab Scheduler). On the day of your scheduled test, grab your face covering and Pitt ID and venture out to the yellow sculpture, where testing staff are waiting to welcome you. And don’t worry: your results will be kept confidential. See what the process looks like.

Just beyond the sculpture, a member of the testing staff greets you. Dash visions of hooded strangers in hazmat suits from your mind; on this morning, John V. Williams, chief of the School of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases and director of the CMRO, is on welcoming duty. Williams and other staff members enthusiastically chat with students—about school, where they’re from, football—during their short wait in line, putting them at ease.

When it’s your turn, a staff member motions for you move forward into the blue-fenced testing site, where a staff member sits with a laptop, hand sanitizer and cardboard-box of unused testing kits. This is where you verify your identity (don’t forget your Pitt ID!), sanitize your hands (the first of many times), and receive your testing kit and corresponding barcode labels that will accompany your sample.

While the label is used to match an individual to their sample, the identities of individuals undergoing surveillance testing—as well as the results of those tests—remain confidential.

Once you have your testing kit and labels, you’ll proceed to a second small line to wait, physically distanced, of course, for testing booths to open. With eight testing booths, this line moves quickly.

Original source can be found here.