Oregon State University scientists will be launching a public health study called TRACE-COVID in order to understand how prevalent the virus is among the Corvallis community, according to an all-student email sent out by OSU President Ed Ray on April 16. 

The pilot-phase of TRACE-COVID will launch this Sunday, and starting April 25, the study will safely test 960 local residents in their households every week over four consecutive weekends Ray said in the email. Within seven to 10 days of testing, participants will confidentially receive their test results, and results will be shared with the Benton County Health Department also. According to Ray, every week, the combined results of each sampling will be shared to the TRACE-COVID website, and will indicate whether the prevalence of COVID-19 is growing, staying the same or declining within Corvallis.

TRACE-COVID is among the nation’s first of its kind to gauge the prevalence of the coronavirus among community members who are both symptomatic and asymptomatic. According to Ray’s email, TRACE-COVID’s results will allow public health and government leaders to better guide efforts to combat the virus.

This is a developing story, and will be updated as more information becomes available.