As in-person Penn State classes begin, students must be re-tested for coronavirus

“That will take us about 10-12 days to go through all of the students that we anticipate signing up for this testing."

• By Jade Campos/WPSU

(State College) — Monday was the first day of in-person classes for Penn State students. To slow the spread of the virus, the university is requiring students to be re-tested after arriving back on campus for the semester.

All students living on or off-campus who are registered for in-person classes are required to take the arrival test.

Students living in the State College area are also required to take the test even if their classes are fully remote.

The director of Penn State’s COVID-19 Operations Control Center Kelly Wolgast says arrival testing will take place in the university’s White Building.

“That will take us about 10-12 days to go through all of the students that we anticipate signing up for this testing,” Wolgast said.

Wolgast said the university will use rapid testing for this process. Rapid tests are also being used for students whose pre-arrival test results weren’t received by the university.

“The good news about this is that the rapid testing allows us to identify, we hope, the virus more quickly. We want students to know that information right away and not wander around too long with the virus without us knowing about it,” Wolgast said.

Wolgast said students who test positive with a rapid test will immediately receive a nasal swab test to confirm the results.

Penn State will continue randomized testing on March 1.