Reminder About Fall COVID-19 Testing Protocols
As the fall semester gets underway, UMass Amherst will have a variety of COVID-19 testing protocols in place in addition to the university’s vaccination requirement for faculty, staff and students.
For the fall semester:
- Exempt students with approved COVID-19 vaccine medical or religious exemption are required to be tested twice a week.
- Exempt faculty and staff with approved COVID-19 vaccine medical or religious exemption are required to be tested once a week.
- For students who are in the process of getting fully vaccinated, they should get tested twice a week until two weeks after their second dose.
- For faculty and staff who are in the process of getting fully vaccinated, they should get tested once a week until two weeks after their second dose.
Vaccinated Faculty, Staff or Student can get tested at their discretion. Community testing will also continue via the PHPC.
Vaccinated and exempted unvaccinated students, staff, and faculty should test immediately whenever they are concerned about COVID-19 symptoms or when exposed to COVID-19. Individuals need to test within three to five days post-exposure. Whenever you are feeling ill, you must self-isolate until you get your test results. Your compliance with these measures will help us keep our community healthier and safer.
Faculty, staff and students have a variety of options for testing this fall.
- Unobserved testing is a free and flexible option where you can pick up testing kits at the Public Health Promotion Center and drop a completed kit off, at your convenience, at any of our kiosks across campus. For a list of drop off kiosk locations click here.
- Limited observed asymptomatic testing is free and available at the Public Health Promotion Center on the first floor of the Campus Center on a walk-in basis.
- University Health Services will continue to offer symptomatic testing by appointment. Your health insurance will be billed for testing and care you receive at UHS.
If you have any COVID-19 symptoms do not come to the PHPC for testing. Please utilize an unobserved test kit and drop it at a kiosk or contact University Health Services for an appointment.
Quarantine and Isolation
Due to full occupancy in residence halls, quarantine and isolation space on campus is limited. Isolation and quarantine for on-campus students should take place at their permanent / home residence. On campus quarantine and isolation space will be made available only in limited instances. Since there is typically little time to prepare for isolation or quarantine when instructed to do so, the university has developed this planning guide to help individuals anticipate what they may need if they must isolate or quarantine.
New Location of the Public Health Promotion Center (PHPC)
The PHPC currently located in the Mullins Center has moved to its new location on the first floor of the Campus Center.
The PHPC will continue to serve as the central coordinating COVID-19 response hub, which includes: COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic, observed asymptomatic testing location, unobserved testing distribution and operations, contact tracing, and quarantine and isolation.
For more information on the COVID-19 Testing Program click here and for Testing FAQs click here.