Testing

The campus laboratory certified to conduct PCR testing for COVID-19 for members of the University community is closed as of June 6, 2023.

If your department has unused saliva test kits, do not throw them away. Any unused test kits may be dropped off at UHS (McCosh Health Center) during normal business hours.

When the Infirmary is open, University Health Services continues to provide PCR testing at McCosh Health Center for undergraduate and graduate students with respiratory symptoms.

PCR testing is also widely available through pharmacies, physician’s offices, hospital testing sites, urgent care centers, and other testing locations. Rapid antigen tests are readily available in pharmacies, grocery stores, and online.

Please note that purchase of rapid antigen tests by departments or individuals is not an allowable University expense.

What should I do if I test positive for COVID?

As of March 2024, the CDC and NJDOH have relaxed the guidance for a minimum of 5-days of isolation after a positive COVID test. Instead, those with respiratory symptoms should adhere to common sense guidelines for all respiratory viruses, including staying up-to-date with vaccination, avoiding others when sick with fever and/or significant respiratory symptoms, and practicing good hygiene (frequent hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes).

Given this updated public health guidance, students, faculty, and staff are no longer asked to isolate for at least 5 days after testing positive for COVID. Instead, they should follow the CDC Respiratory Virus Guidance and stay away from others until their symptoms have improved and they have been fever-free for 24 hours. 

The University is no longer expecting members of the campus community to submit their COVID tests to University Health Services’ Global and Community Health.

Information for Your Close Contacts

You are encouraged but not required to alert those with whom you have been in close contact in the past three to five days that you are positive for COVID. When sharing with a contact that you have tested positive, you can give them the following guidance:

  • They should monitor how they are feeling for the next several days
  • If they experience any symptoms that might be associated with COVID, they should be tested
    • During this time period, they should wear a face covering consistently inside, except when sleeping or eating. Maintain physical distance (6 feet or 2 meters) from others when eating, both while inside and outside, until they have received a negative result. 
  • If they do not feel any symptoms, they should wait three to five days since the last time they were in contact with you and then consider getting tested.