What will arrival testing look like for UMaine and UMaine Machias students? And can students opt out of on-campus testing with documentation of a negative COVID-19 test result?
Testing will be required of individuals who are not fully vaccinated. For those not fully vaccinated as required to live on and participate in on-campus classes and activities, testing will be conducted through a noninvasive saliva test. Returning members of the community are already familiar with the COVID-19 saliva test, and while the locations and details may change, the testing will be the same saliva-based test and high-quality, fast results that we experienced in the spring semester. For students who are not fully vaccinated, testing will occur upon arrival for fall, and then weekly throughout the semester.
Vaccinated persons are currently exempt from entry and weekly testing.
Students may satisfy the return-to-campus testing with an independent RT-PCR test (not antibody or rapid-antigen) sampled within 72 hours of their arrival to campus. This test result should be presented upon arrival to the designated testing site/personnel.