Up to 1,000 students, faculty and staff at Oregon State University may be voluntarily tested randomly for COVID-19 weekly through the TRACE OSU project.

According to an email sent on Sept. 30 to all OSU students from Dan Larson, Vice Provost of Student Affairs and the OSU COVID-19 response coordinator, wastewater testing, which is a part of the TRACE OSU COVID-19 analysis, showed that the virus was prominent at Sackett Hall on OSU’s Corvallis, Ore. campus, as well as the university-affiliated GEM apartment building located on Kings Blvd. in Corvallis. 

As of Sept. 27, the only other Corvallis-campus residence hall to show signs of the virus is the building reserved specifically for those students who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quarantining. 

All students residing at Sackett Hall and GEM apartments have been notified via email on Sept. 30 of the prominence of the virus in their buildings, and COVID-19 testing through TRACE OSU will be available for them. Students who opt out of this testing will be required to quarantine for 14 days and isolate themselves at home, at the quarantine-reserved residence hall or a single room at The GEM.

Results of TRACE OSU testing of the OSU community and wastewater will be published on the TRACE OSU website beginning Oct. 5.

More information about the project can be found on the TRACE OSU website.

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