As colleges and universities are dealing with the coronavirus outbreaks on campuses, the CDC announced a new approach that could help prevent or reduce the transmission.
The CDC issued their initial guidance last June, which stated that it "does not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff." At the time the guidance was released, people reported not getting their results for several days or weeks.
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But now, testing has been more advanced, and the CDC is saying, "In an IHE (Institutions of higher education) setting, with frequent movement of faculty, staff and students between the IHE and the community, a strategy of entry screening combined with regular serial testing might prevent or reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission."
The agency also updated its recommendations for colleges and universities on contact tracing.
"A testing strategy should only be implemented if results will lead to specific actions such as isolation of those with a positive test, contact tracing once a case is identified, quarantining close contacts, and reviewing and altering infection prevention and control practices and implemented mitigation strategies," the CDC wrote on its site.
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Aside from its new approach, this month, the CDC also released "Indicators for Dynamic School Decision Making" which specifies indicators for community COVID-19 burden and implementation of mitigation strategies to guide decision making for K-12 schools, according to the agency.
For more information on testing and CDC guidelines for universities, visit the CDC's website.
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