Students returning to the University of Alabama have one bit of homework to do before the start of classes tomorrow.
Heathcare providers want all 10,000 students living on campus to be retested for the coronavirus. Today is the deadline for those tests to be done.
Testing residential students is change from last fall when all students had to be checked. Dr. Richard Friend is Dean of UA’s College of Community Health Sciences and said the new plan focuses on students who may be at greater risk.
“We know the residential students, because the fact that they’re living together in close quarters are at higher risk for spreading and contracting the virus. And, we feel llike that is where our resources will be best utilized,” he said.
Campus-wide testing last fall resulted in a small number of positive cases. That’s why the University changed its focus. Health care workers are also conducting three weeks of sentinel testing where random students, faculty, and staff are invited to come in for a COVID-19 test.