Novel coronavirus information

January 6, 2021

Winter 2021 COVID-19 testing for new students (Message to new students)

This message was sent to new students enrolled in at least one winter course (in person or remote) at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus. Similar messages were sent to new students at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.

Dear Students,

I hope you’ve had a good start to the year, and that you had a happy and restful winter break. Your health and safety are our top priorities, and I want to share an important resource to help protect yourself and your loved ones from the spread of COVID-19.

Husky Coronavirus Testing (HCT) offers voluntary COVID-19 testing for students, faculty and staff, helping prevent single infections from becoming outbreaks. You can enroll at any time and testing is free for you. Your data will be protected, and you will not get in trouble if you test positive. Medical and health sciences students participating in clinical activities are welcome to participate in Husky Coronavirus Testing but will also need to continue to follow specific clinical testing protocols.

Enroll Now

Once enrolled, you’ll receive a short daily survey by text or email. If you report having symptoms or possibly being exposed to someone with COVID-19, you’ll be eligible to receive a test. Public health staff will contact people who test positive to provide support and determine who else might be at risk.

The program also selects a random set of participants to be tested each week, since we know that people with no symptoms can still spread COVID-19. In fact, even if you’ve tested positive before, you should still enroll because we don’t know enough about the virus to understand the risk of reinfection. And please do get tested if you’re asked.

If you run into difficulties getting enrolled, the testing team is available to help at (206) 616-2414 or huskytest@uw.edu.

By participating in testing and following the 3W’s — wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance — you can help keep yourself, and your friends and loved ones, safe. Thanks for doing your part to protect your pack.

Sincerely,

Denzil J. Suite
Vice President for Student Life