At a glance
Alfred State will continue to conduct saliva-based pool testing as it begins to test 100 percent of students, faculty, and staff on a weekly basis.
As the spring 2021 semester gets underway, Alfred State College is joining with its fellow SUNY institutions by increasing the COVID-19 testing rate on campus so that 100 percent of students, faculty, and staff are tested each week.
This increase is a marked change from the fall 2020 testing rate, in which 20 percent of the campus population was tested each week. Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Gregory Sammons noted the change is SUNY-wide and that it will ensure that Alfred State can fulfill its educational mission for the entire spring semester.
“The change will allow the college to identify any infections more quickly and prevent undetected pockets of spread,” Sammons said.
While the rate of testing has increased, the method will remain the same, as Alfred State will continue to utilize saliva-based pool testing. However, due to the massive increase in personal testing, the college will discontinue wastewater testing, which, Sammons noted, “serves as a sort of smoke detector to detect the presence of COVID-19 in large populations.”
Alfred State’s spring 2021 semester kicked off on Monday, Jan. 25, with students quarantining on campus and learning remotely throughout the entire week. In-person instruction will resume on Monday, Feb. 1.
test 100 percent of students, faculty, and staff on a weekly basis.