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.

Students will also continue to have access to free rapid antigen test kits. When the Infirmary is open, University Health Services will continue to provide PCR testing at McCosh Health Center for undergraduate and graduate students with respiratory symptoms.

Students can pick up rapid antigen tests at the following locations: 

  • McCosh Health Center

  • All Residential College offices: weekdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

  • Graduate College Porter’s Lodge: weekdays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

  • Lakeside Apartments Main Office: regular business hours 

Note: The printed expiration date on antigen tests available to students may have passed. However, the manufacturer has received FDA approval for a year extension of the expiration date, so the tests are still good to use.

For employees, PCR testing is 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, online, and free through the Federal government via mail (available again as of September 25).

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?

If you test positive for COVID, you will need to self-isolate for five days minimum (the day of your positive test result is day 0) and will be required to wear a KN95 mask when around others for days six through ten. Do not remove your mask to eat or drink around others. Employees cannot be on campus during their isolation period.

These isolation parameters are based on CDC and NJ DOH requirements. 

Visit the Isolation for Students or Isolation for Employees for more details about isolation.

Undergraduate and graduate students

As soon as you receive a positive result:

  • Return to your local bedroom, whether that's in a dorm, apartment, or off-campus housing
  • If your positive test result is not from McCosh, please submit your positive test result from a self-test kit using this form. You should provide proof of your positive results by submitting a report or a picture of your at-home test. 
  • Implement your isolation plan 
  • If you have questions or need assistance with isolation issues, contact The Service Point during normal business hours (9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) by calling 609-258-8300 or by emailing [email protected] .  
  • Outside of these hours, if you have an urgent issue that cannot wait:
    • For medical questions or concerns, call the Infirmary at (609) 258-3141.
    • For other issues, contact Public Safety at (609) 258-1000 to have Public Safety connect you with the Dean on Call.
    • If you need to relocate to an isolation space, transportation will not be available after 8 p.m.
  • Please note: Hotels are not a good option for individuals who are positive.
  • For questions or concerns about meals while in isolation, contact Campus Dining by emailing mealsupport@princeton.edu.

Employees

  • As of July 1, 2023, UHS will no longer be reviewing at-home employee test results. Employees should no longer submit proof of positive test results to the University. 

  • If you receive a positive test result, do not come to work. Please contact your supervisor or department head as soon as possible to alert them that you will be on a medically supported absence.  

  • In most cases, isolation lasts five days, but can extend beyond this time if people continue to have symptoms. GCH will no longer inform supervisors that an employee may be out on medical leave. 

  • You should isolate yourself from the people that you live with. 

  • If you are experiencing symptoms, please contact your primary medical provider. 

Ending Isolation and Returning to Work

  • You may return to campus on the sixth day after testing positive as long as you have been fever-free for 24 hours and your other symptoms have improved. On days six through ten, you must wear a mask when around others and keep your distance when removing it to eat or drink.
  • You will not receive an email from Global and Community Health at UHS that you are clear to stop isolation. 
  • You will not need a negative test to return to work.
  • Letters of Recovery from COVID-19 are no longer available from UHS

Contact Tracing

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. Your close contacts will not necessarily receive a phone call or an email that they have been identified as a close contact of someone who tested positive. 

Information for Your Close Contacts

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.

Please visit the CDC’s website for more information on what to do if you test positive for COVID-19.