Students will not be required to upload their COVID-19 test results before returning to campus, according to an email from University Health Center Director Spyridon Marinopoulos.
The University of Maryland announced last Friday that faculty, staff and students would need to receive a rapid antigen or PCR test within 48 hours of returning to campus on Jan. 24. Students living on-campus must test within 24 to 48 hours of returning to their dorms, according to the email.
While students, faculty and staff are not required to show proof of their negative test, the email clarified they are still required to show proof of receiving the booster shot.
Although Marinopoulos noted the scarcity of tests, he said everyone should be able to find a test because supplies are expected to increase.
“We recognize that tests have recently been hard to find,” Marinopoulos said in the email.
[USM requires COVID booster for students living on campus this spring]
In Prince George’s County, the Health Department is providing free at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits at designated locations, such as community centers and libraries in the county.
Other Maryland counties have similar initiatives to provide testing kits, including Montgomery County.
If a test comes back positive, travel to campus must be postponed and the individual is expected to follow all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state, county and campus guidelines for isolation and testing. This includes isolating for at least five days and receiving a negative rapid test on day six, said Marinopoulos in the email.
If the test comes back positive while in the College Park area, individuals need to report to the HEAL Line, said the email. Marinopoulos added that people in Maryland are expected to report positive self-tests to the state online.
“We are counting on each of you to do your part,” wrote Marinopoulos.
