COVID-19 Testing

UNCSA is able to test students for COVID-19, in partnership with Wake Forest Baptist Health. Faculty and staff need to contact their medical provider for testing. Surveillance testing helps to identify if there are areas where COVID-19 is popping up, and therefore, whether and where further testing is needed. Contact tracing will be conducted by the Forsyth County Health Department with assistance from UNCSA.

UNCSA tracks positive cases through on-campus testing and surveillance programs, student self-reported data and faculty or staff self-reported data, while working with county and state health officials. The UNCSA COVID-19 Dashboard reports case counts on students, faculty and staff whether they have been on campus in the past 14 days or not.

COVID-19 Testing

UNCSA is testing students for COVID-19, in partnership with Wake Forest Baptist Health. Students who refuse to take a COVID-19 test at the request of health services will face disciplinary action up to and including expulsion.

Costs:

• Tests are no cost to students, when ordered by a Student Health Services medical provider.
• Faculty and staff need to contact their medical provider for testing. The State Health Plan is waiving cost of copay for in-person and virtual visits to COVID-19 screening, COVID-19 test until CARES Act Requirements expires, and
  treatment for members with COVID-19.

Surveillance Testing Program

COVID-19 surveillance testing program at UNCSA is an additional way to help keep our campus safe. Surveillance testing allows us to see if there are areas where COVID-19 is popping up, and therefore, whether and where further testing is needed. All testing is optional; no one is required to participate, but participation is strongly encouraged. The university is only testing asymptomatic individuals as part of surveillance testing. If you have symptoms and do not pass the daily self-screening, please stay home and immediately self-isolate. 

When and where is testing?

Testing occurs weekly throughout the fall semester in Eisenberg Social Hall of Hanes Student Commons. Anyone selected for testing will receive an email with further instructions and an appointment time.

Who is conducting the testing?

Our testing program is being conducted in conjunction with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), which has contracted with Starmount Healthcare Management (StarMed) to administer the tests.

How is the testing group selected?

 

How will testing work?

About 50 people per hour will be tested. You will be prescreened by a medical provider before testing. The test will be collected via a nasal swab (officially known as a Polymerase Chain Reaction or PCR Nasopharyngeal Swab). Any personal information collected for the test will remain confidential and not used for any other purpose.

How will I receive my results?

Lab results are generally available within 72 hours from the testing date. You will receive a text message and email with a link to access test results via a secure patient portal.

What happens if I test positive?

You will follow UNCSA's positive case protocol.

Will I be charged for the test?

Testing will be conducted at no cost to individuals or the university. StarMed will bill the student’s insurance for the visit with the medical provider and the COVID-19 test; however, students will not be billed for any costs not covered by insurance. For students who do not have insurance, StarMed will bill the federal CARES Act.

Contract tracing

Contact tracing will be conducted by the Forsyth County Health Department with assistance from UNCSA. Forsyth County has hired and trained additional contact tracers to respond to the pandemic. UNCSA continues to be in direct contact with Forsyth County health officials and will work with them closely to implement contact tracing on campus.

Note: The CDC has recently changed its definition of a close contact. Whereas a close contact had previously been identified as someone who has been within six feet of someone infected with COVID-19 for a total of 15 minutes or more, the guidance now states that the 15-minute exposure is cumulative at a distance of six feet or less over a 24-hour period.

For example, if you were within six feet of someone infected with COVID-19 for three five-minute segments throughout the day, you would be identified as a close contact and therefore, would be quarantined for 14 days. This new guidance means that physical distancing of six feet or more is critical in every situation.