Students required to get COVID-19 test before fall return
The University of Dayton is requiring all students to take a COVID-19 test to ensure they do not have the virus before returning to classes this fall. Photo of UD.
Kaitlin Lewis
News Editor
The University of Dayton emailed students Wednesday to announce that students are required to take a COVID-19 test before returning to campus this fall.
The email sent by Mary Buchwalder, director of the UD Student Health Center, states that all undergraduate students, including those commuting or living in non-UD housing, will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within five days before they arrive on campus.
Students are expected to receive the final plans about move-in on July 7. Graduate and law students who live in UD housing or who have recently traveled abroad will also be required to go through testing.
Any student who tests positive may not return to campus and will be required to begin their fall 2020 semester online.
Most states, including Ohio, offer free COVID-19 testing at designated testing sites.
The University will offer testing by appointment for students who cannot be tested before arriving on campus. Students who are tested through UD will be required to self-isolate in their residential facility until they receive results.
If the student tests positive with COVID-19, they will be sent home and required to start classes online.
“We fully understand that this is a tight timeline and may be challenging for you,” Buchwalder said. “But this program is an essential measure we must take to try to curtail the spread of the virus on campus.”
UD’s decision to require students to be tested was guided by the UD COVID-19 Medical Advisory Panel, a group made up of Dayton physicians and health experts.
This panel has played a large role in Dayton’s plans for how students can return to campus this fall and will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on campus.
For more information on UD’s plans for fall 2020, the Path Forward website explains the university’s protocols for student life, classroom environments and working on campus.