UNL to Begin Randomized Testing for COVID-19 as Campus Numbers Drop

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is shifting from requiring everyone on campus to be tested for COVID-19 every two weeks to a more randomized system that starts on Thursday.

“A computer will generate from the available list of all our students, faculty and staff a number that will be required to test,” said Amy Goodburn, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Undergraduate Education at UNL. “Those faculty, staff and students will receive an e-mail saying that they’ve been chosen and then they will have from the following Sunday through Wednesday to have their tests taken."

The positivity rate on campus last week was .35%, down more than half since the week ending January 23rd. The randomized mitigation testing is expected to help UNL keep track of potential spikes on campus.

“If there should be a spike in positivity rates, then we would go back probably to either testing everybody or doing surveillance testing at a particular residence hall, for instance, or fraternity or wherever we’re seeing a surge in cases,” Goodburn said.

The randomized testing is required and staff, faculty and students who don’t get their tests on time won’t be able to enter campus buildings.