Students returning to Bloomington for the upcoming semester must be tested for COVID-19 once they arrive, with the exception of students who have tested positive within 90 days of their arrival.
Students living in on-campus housing who arrive before Jan. 30 will take a saliva test and are asked to quarantine in their residence hall rooms until they receive their results. If a student tests positive, they will be required to isolate for ten days and until symptoms improve either at their home or in the Ashton Residence Center, according to IU’s website.
IU will administer rapid tests for students arriving between Jan. 30 and Feb. 7. Rapid tests return results within an hour but are more likely to return a false positive than the saliva test, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A positive result from the rapid test will require the student to immediately take a saliva test.
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If a student receives a positive test result from a rapid test, they are expected to isolate either at their homes or in Ashton for 48 hours while awaiting their second results. Students who receive a negative result from the second test will be able to move into their residence halls as normal.
Students living in on-campus housing arriving after Feb. 7 will take the saliva test and are expected to isolate for the next 48 hours while waiting for their results, according to IU COVID-19 guidelines.
Students who arrive after Jan. 29 cannot move into their residence halls unless they have a negative test result, and they are expected to wait for their test results either at their home or in Ashton. Students who arrive before Jan. 29 must move out of their residence hall if they receive a positive test and must quarantine at their home or in Ashton.
If a student tests positive, they cannot move into their residence hall until 10 days have passed and they are experiencing no symptoms.
Related: [IU to distribute COVID-19 vaccine to students, faculty, staff for free]
Students living in greek housing or in Student Organization Housing must obtain a negative test result before moving into their house and must await their test results at home or at a local hotel. If a student tests positive, they must consult with their chapter to determine capacity for isolating in their house.
Students living in off-campus housing may be selected for mitigation testing. Emails containing information about mitigation testing are sent to off-campus students every Friday. Students may request an exemption if they are not in Bloomington. IU encourages off-campus students to schedule a test as soon as they arrive in Bloomington. Students are encouraged to isolate while waiting for their test results, and if they test positive, they must isolate for 10 days and until symptoms improve.
Students can sign up for their test here. Further information regarding on-arrival testing and more can be found here.
