By: James Morgan
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. (UATV) – As universities across the world recognize the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, testing has been an evolving concern throughout the return to in-person classes at the U of A and other Arkansas universities.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has let to many unique challenges for health centers at universities, with testing plans as the focal point.
“It’s been absolutely vital. If you don’t test, you don’t know,” Dr. Huda Sharaf, the UARK Pat Walker Health Center medical director said. “Not only that, it’s been vital in determining those that have no symptoms that are positive.”
Dr. Sharaf said the University of Arkansas started COVID-19 testing in the first of June, and now has the capacity to conduct 240 tests a day.
“We continue to have access to both types of testing in our health center,” Sharaf said. “we were able to get rapid tests through the Arkansas Department of Health and Arkansas Department of Higher Ed in the first part of October.”
Other universities across Northwest Arkansas have also gone through vigorous testing efforts in the past several months.
John Brown University in Siloam Springs tested all their returning students before they returned for the start of the spring semester.
“We found … maybe a dozen during that surveillance testing,” Julie Gumm, director of marketing and communications for John Brown University said. “They just kind of stayed at home and participated in classes online and then showed up to campus when they were clear.”
Most of this testing was done before students arrived on campus, but Gumm said John Brown provides symptomatic testing through the university nurse and several clinics located just off campus.
Colleges like the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville were able to test faculty and staff during the summer before students came back to campus.
“We don’t have a lot of summer classes,” Larry Isch, director of public relations at the University of the Ozarks said. “We were testing faculty and staff last summer and then started testing once the fall semester began.”
Isch said the University of the Ozarks has been able to keep COVID-19 positive numbers in the single digits for most of the last eight months because of quick testing and quarantine rooms.
All three universities had testing plans in place by the start of the fall semester and were able to hold limited in-person classes for the 2020-21 academic year.
Case positivity has dropped after an initial spike in August and September and continues to remain low for most universities in Northwest Arkansas.
COVID-19 testing successful at Northwest Arkansas universities
