UCF announced Friday it plans to make rapid COVID-19 testing available to the UCF community in the coming weeks.
Dr. Michael Deichen, associate vice president of UCF Student Health Services, said UCF is monitoring public health conditions, including trends such as positive local cases and hospital, testing and tracing capacities.
“I will share more about this soon,” Deichen said in the Friday update. “But our goal is to test both random and targeted groups to detect possible outbreaks on campus or identify emerging trends in positivity rates.”
Deichen said more details will be available soon, and said standard testing will continue to be available by appointment in Garage A with Aventus Biolabs. All faculty, staff and students can request a test by calling UCF’s COVID Line at 407-823-2509.
UCF’s case dashboard, which is updated weekly, last shows 27 new positive cases of COVID-19 reported to the university for the week ending Aug. 29
UCF officials notified the Greek community that two chapters in Greek Park were placed under quarantine on Friday evening, and said consequences will come to chapters who violate the rules.
Despite other university officials publicly voicing disappointment in the UCF community for failing to follow UCF’s policies, Deichen said he has been impressed with the compliance.
“I have been impressed by the UCF community’s compliance with our policy and these practices,” Deichen said. “They must continue in order for our in-person fall semester to proceed.”
Maribeth Ehasz, vice president of Student Development and Enrollment Services, said the university is disappointed to learn individuals are not complying with UCF’s policies.
She said the university if particularly disappointed with the lack of compliance with the requirement to wear face coverings, and disobeying requests from a UCF official to do so.
To report positive tests, ask questions about symptoms or request a telehealth visit to be screened for possible testing, call UCF’s COVID Line at 407-823-2509.
This is a developing story. Check back with Knight News for updates.
