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.
Related: [IU reveals spring 2021 on-arrival COVID-19 testing plan]
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.
