Expanded testing program
We have been closely monitoring regional and national developments throughout our planning for fall and continue to incorporate new information into our strategy as it becomes available. We have recently learned more about our capabilities for testing and how we can use this important tool most effectively as a part of our overall strategy to protect the health of our community.
Last week the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved a highly accurate COVID-19 saliva test created by university faculty that provides results within 24-36 hours. This means the university is now in a position to increase our testing program on the Danforth Campus to include:
- All students moving into Residential Life housing
- Students who are living off-campus in non-Residential Life housing in the St. Louis region
- Graduate and professional students who will work, teach or conduct research on the Danforth Campus
- All students, faculty and staff who develop COVID-19 related symptoms at any time during the fall semester, upon referral from Habif Health and Wellness Center or Occupational Health
- Testing of all undergraduate students every two weeks during the fall semester
Additional details are available in a message that was sent earlier today to undergraduate students and their families.
What to do if you have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19
If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or if you test positive, are presumed positive or believe you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you must report this information as follows:
All Danforth Campus students (on- or off-campus, undergraduate, graduate or professional)
Habif Health and Wellness Center, 314-935-6666
Faculty and staff
Occupational Health employee hotline, 314-362-5056
Once notified of a positive case, Habif or Occupational Health will:
- Provide guidance regarding testing, contact tracing, and any other steps you may be required to take.
- Communicate with the appropriate local health department.
- Notify individuals in the university community identified as a close contact of the individual and advise them of next steps, including any required preventive measures such as testing or quarantine.
- Contact your supervisor or dean to advise on any necessary follow-up within your school or department.
COVID-19 research on the Danforth Campus
In addition to some amazing medical research being conducted at the School of Medicine, researchers on the Danforth Campus have wasted no time in studying COVID-19 and its effects on society. The Brown School’s Shenyang Guo, for example, recently did a deep dive into the first five weeks of the pandemic. The new paper provides the first explicit analysis of the timing, determinants and impacts of mitigation interventions around the country. …The pandemic has exposed a multitude of deficiencies in our public health systems that will require a wholesale reinvention of the field of public health. The Brown School’s Ross Brownson and the School of Medicine’s Graham Colditz are two of four national experts who wrote an essay calling for change while offering concrete suggestions on how to do so. … And Arts & Sciences biological anthropologist E.A. Quinn co-authored a study examining whether the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted through human milk. For all the latest research regarding the pandemic from both the Danforth and Medical Campuses, visit the COVID-19 roundup in The Source.
Dining on campus
While life on campus this year may look and feel a little different, WashU’s award-winning Dining Services are committed to ensuring the dining experience on campus is as great as usual. In this video, dining services associate director Andrew Watling and operations manager Ivy Magruder discuss the numerous steps that have been taken to ensure the safety of anyone dining on campus.
Learn about the university’s response to COVID-19
The latest research and news stories related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the WashU community are available on The Source.