Stanford To Reinstate Weekly COVID-19 Testing Requirement, Regardless Of Vaccination Status

Palo Alto CA

12 August, 2021

11:42 AM

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By Georgia Rosenberg, The Stanford Daily August 11, 2021 Stanford will require all students coming to campus or living on campus or in University-sponsored off-campus housing to be tested for COVID-19 on a weekly basis regardless of vaccination status starting on Aug. 15, according to a Wednesday email from Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole. The reversal follows the University's July elimination of the testing requirement for fully vaccinated students — a decision that was soon followed by seven fully vaccinated students testing positive for the virus. It also comes as Stanford continues to tighten on campus restrictions amid the surge in cases of the highly-contagious Delta variant. Stanford may be the first university in the Bay Area to enact such a requirement, though it is in good company with East Coast peer institutions like Harvard, Princeton and Brown, which are also requiring weekly testing for vaccinated students. Brubaker-Cole's email also announced that vaccinated students are not required to complete a daily Health Check, though they must do so if they experience COVID-19 symptoms, test positive for the virus or are exposed to household members who test positive. Students living in University housing must also complete entry testing on days zero and five following their arrival, even if they are fully vaccinated. The entry testing requirement additionally applies to students "coming to campus frequently, except those who have been living on campus or have been living in the area and coming to campus frequently this summer," Brubaker-Cole wrote. Unvaccinated international students and unvaccinated students traveling to Stanford from international areas must arrive on campus seven days prior to the start of in-person activities for "entry testing, vaccination, and a period of restricted activity." According to Brubaker-Cole, these students will receive additional information from the University. This article is breaking and will be updated. The Stanford Daily is the independent, student-run newspaper of Stanford University. Read more of their stories at StanfordDaily.com.