UCO Begins Free On-Campus Testing
J.D. SilvaThe University of Central Oklahoma will offer free on-campus COVID-19 testing beginning Aug. 20. Tests will take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. every Monday and Thursday.
IMMY Labs will be conducting the testing, and appointments can be scheduled ahead of time here.
Tests will be conducted at the corner of University and First Street, at 325 E. First St. Additionally, students should prepare for a drive-thru test if they have not made an appointment.
Walk-up testing is only offered to those who have an appointment.
In a press release, UCO stated, “The partnership with IMMY Labs will allow members of the UCO community to get a test with minimal wait time and test results back within two business days. The site will also allow members of the community to schedule an appointment and get tested.”
Those who are in their vehicles must enter the facility lot from the north entrance off of Main Street and be prepared to show their confirmation code to the IMMY workers. On the IMMY site, they show that testing will take roughly 10 minutes and results will come back within two business days.
UCO Centralities, a daily newsletter to all UCO students and faculty, reported on Wednesday that 10 new cases of COVID-19 have been discovered in the last week. This brings the total number of cases up to 35 since June 1.
Free testing is important for the minority populations on campus. JaNae Williams reported forty-two and a half percent of university students self-declare as non-white.This includes international students and those who identify as two or more races. COVID-19 has hit minority communities particularly hard.
Alyssa Provencio, coordinator of the university’s certificate in disaster management program said,
“This is going to affect our black and brown and poor students more than it’s going to affect our students who have health insurance and access to good healthcare and also who don’t have to worry about the looks that they get when they wear masks.”
UCO outlined details for its protocol for students, faculty or staff who contract COVID-19. Jacob Silva reported on the measures taken if a Broncho contracts the virus.
If a student tests positive, they will be contacted by the university Emergency Management team. They will begin contact tracing with that student to determine what students, faculty members, or facilities have been exposed to the virus.
The university has measures in place to help students, faculty and staff amid the coronavirus. Maintaining health and wellness – physical, mental, emotional and social is as important as wearing a mask and social distancing.