Negative Test Not A ‘Life Insurance Policy’ For North Dakota Students, Dean Says

Dec. 8--Students won't be required to get a coronavirus test prior to the start of the spring semester, but it will be highly encouraged.

"Will students need to produce a negative test result before attending class? And to our knowledge, there is no expectation of this," Cassie Gerhardt, associate dean of students, said during a virtual campus town hall meeting Monday, Dec. 7.

University officials have been holding forums periodically throughout the fall semester to give updates to students, staff, faculty and parents about the ongoing COVID-19 situation on campus.

During the spring semester, UND will be continuing with its current learning model: a mixture of in-person, online and hybrid courses.

"Let's continue to make great decisions to keep yourself safe, and to keep all those around you safe as well traveling back and forth between Grand Forks and hometowns over the holidays," UND President Andrew Armacost said.

At present, there are no requirements for students to quarantine when they return to campus in January, said Jed Shivers, vice president for finance and operations who has been helping lead UND's COVID-19 response.

"Unless we have specific information that an area is particularly hot and we've been alerted to that by our state Department of Health, I do not anticipate any kind of generic requirement to quarantine or isolate," he said.

There will be testing opportunities for students prior to departing for the winter break. Students can get tested and are encouraged to "lay low" before they go home, i.e. staying away from large crowds or other ways through which they could expose themselves to the virus.

Dr. Joshua Wynne, the dean of the UND medical school who has been leading the university system's COVID-19 response, said a negative test shouldn't be treated as "life insurance policy," however. He said students and families should still exercise caution.

"It's the best you can do under the circumstances, but don't get arrogant about it and assume that the negative test means that you're nontransmissible," Wynne said. "Lay as low as possible."

UND's dashboard shows 57 active cases associated with the university, including three faculty members, 14 staff and 40 students. There are 109 individuals in quarantine or isolation, 13 of whom are in UND-purchased hotel rooms.

The next mass testing event will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at UND's High Performance Center.

UND has been holding testing events each Tuesday and every other Saturday throughout the fall semester. Events will continue in the spring.

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