Grove City College Partnering With National Organization to Increase COVID-19 Testing
Like many local universities, Grove City College is in the midst of preparing for the fall semester.
One way they are hoping to stop the spread of COVID-19 is by seeking information from a national outlet.
Quest Diagnostics has agreed to help the college as the semester is set to begin. Students, however, will see efforts before the semester starts.
First, the company will send surveys out to students. Grove City President Paul McNulty says the questions will ask "where a student has been, or if they have come in contact with anyone known to have the virus", among other things as well.
Then, if a student is deemed to need a test following the survey, Quest will send the student a COVID-19 testing kit, with instructions on how to effectively use it.
Once the test is complete, it will be sent back to Quest, who will "run it through their labs and send the results back", says McNulty.
This sequence is expected to happen in the next few weeks, before the semester starts. McNulty hopes this will allow the campus to have an idea of what they may need to prepare for.
"Our expectation is that [other] significant testing ability won't be necessary", said McNulty. "However, we have a second type of testing process". McNulty also noted that Grove City College will have adequate safety measures and testing on campus in the fall.
Michael Lindstedt, a Grove City Sophomore, is hopeful that students will be able to remain on campus during the fall semester. He says it is too difficult to take some specific classes online, including several in his major of Electrical Engineering.
"In the fall, I'm taking a class called linear circuits, which is all abut building circuits", Lindstedt said. "I think that would be very tough to run online, given you're working with your hands to construct different things".
This story was supported by the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.