Covid-19 Testing – Illinois Distributed Museum

With saliva being a reliable retainer of the Covid-19 virus, the University of Illinois formulated a 12hr rapid test program for Illini, using saliva samples. Individuals on-campus are required to test twice weekly. Results store in the McKinley Health Center Patient Portal – available conveniently for Illini through the Safer Illinois mobile application. Positive results are dispatched to the Illinois Department of Public Health and Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, who contact individuals, giving further instruction on quarantine for campus and community safety.

Sandwich board sign that says Walk Up Covid-19 Testing in front of a white tent — One of University of Illinois’ Walk-Up Testing Sites for Covid-19. Photo by: Fred Zwicky (Touchstone, 2020).

Locations to Visit

Veterinarian Medicine Basic Sciences Building: Dr. Fan and his team developed the rapid test here.

Sources

COVID-19 SHIELD: Target, Test, Tell team. (2021). On-Campus COVID-19 Testing. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, covid19.illinois.edu/health-and-support/on-campus-covid-19-testing/.

Ranoa, D. R. E., Holland, R. L., Alnaji, F. G., Green, K. J.,Wang, L., Brooke, C. B., Burke, M. D., Fan, T. M., Hergenrother, P. J. (2020). Saliva-Based Molecular Testing for SARS-CoV-2 That Bypasses RNA Extraction, bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2020.06.18.159434.

Touchstone, L. H. (2020, Aug 19). Illinois validates salvia-based test for Covid-19. Illinois News Bureau. https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/1795135071 (photo).