U Of A Will Test All In-Person Students For Coronavirus In Spring

TUCSON, AZ — The University of Arizona will require coronavirus tests for all in-person students returning to campus for the spring semester, the school announced Monday.

Previously, only students living in dorms or on-campus housing were required to be tested before moving in. Tests were available to all students and faculty throughout the fall semester on a voluntary basis.

President Robert C. Robbins said the campus positivity rate has remained low throughout the school's return to in-person learning and he would like it to stay that way.

"We continue to see a rise in cases, not only in Arizona but nationally, following Halloween and a lot of rallies, a lot of public gatherings, and I think we'll continue to see positive rates go up," Robbins said. "But through our testing program on campus … our positivity rate remains low."

Between Oct. 29 and Nov. 7, there were 71 positive results out of 8,345 tests conducted on campus, according to the university's data. Large gatherings have also decreased since the start of the semester.

"I am encouraged by the improved compliance with public health measures this last week," Robbins said.

All students planning to travel out of town for the holidays have been encouraged by the university to undergo testing. Thanksgiving break starts on Nov. 26, after which all classes will move back online in order to curb potential travel-related spread of the virus. Currently, courses of up to 50 students are allowed to meet in person, which is the second stage of the school's reopening plan.

Robbins said in his Monday news conference that he hopes to start the spring semester in stage two, with the hopes of moving to stage three shortly after. The third stage would allow for classes of up to 100 students to meet in person. Robbins called it a "remote possibility."

The school reopening debate has continued as Arizona experiences an uptick in coronavirus cases. The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 3,434 new cases Tuesday — the most recorded in a single day since July 25, when Arizona was a national hotspot for the virus.