On the right path: Alabama releases promising initial COVID-19 testing numbers
By Keith Farner
Published:
As students return to campus across the SEC, universities are conducting thousands of COVID-19 tests. Among them, the University of Alabama recently conducted more than 25,000 tests of students, and as of Aug. 16, less than 1 percent tested positive for the coronavirus.
The university reported that 237 UA students tested positive for COVID-19 out of the 25,948 who completed testing either at one of the 13 GuideSafe testing sites statewide, through a mail-in test or by a personal physician. Those who tested positive were notified and must complete UA’s isolation protocols before returning to the campus community. All students must submit confirmation of a negative COVID-19 test before attending class.
To expedite COVID-19 testing for students before the first day of classes, free tests will be offered at Coleman Coliseum through Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Classes are scheduled to begin on Wednesday.
Alabama officials said they would offer updates on student test results upon the conclusion of re-entry testing, then again every two weeks, at a minimum.
These Alabama numbers are similar to reported figures at the University of Kentucky, which was out of more than 10,000 students tested, 78 were found to be infected. That’s about 0.74 percent.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
