UCL announces plan for 1,000 Covid-19 tests per day

UCL students and staff will be able to get tested for coronavirus and declare their own symptoms under new measures announced by UCL.

Image by Yuri Samoilov

University College London (UCL) has announced that it intends to provide 1,000 coronavirus tests per day for students and staff by the start of the academic year, September 28. Under the new initiative, students and staff who display the main symptoms of coronavirus will be able to undergo an antigen test for the virus in order to monitor the presence of the virus on campus.

The newly announced scheme will run in partnership with Health Service Laboratories, a diagnostic services provider, and follows on from a pilot testing programme organised by the UCL Cancer Institute that staff could previously access. The antigen tests that will be made available can detect whether a patient is currently infected by the coronavirus, but not whether they have ever been exposed to the virus in the past. 

As part of this initiative, UCL has also launched its Connect to Protect self-reporting tool which will allow students and staff to notify the university of any coronavirus symptoms they experience. Members of the university community should stay at home and access the Connect to Protect scheme if they think they have coronavirus, have tested positive for coronavirus, are waiting for a test result or have been asked to self-isolate by the Test and Trace scheme. 

According to the NHS website, the current main symptoms are a high temperature, a new continuous cough and loss or change of sense of smell or taste. UCL has stressed that the programme is only intended to supplement the national testing service and while the university testing scheme is still in development, UCL guidelines recommend that any student currently experiencing any of these symptoms should apply for a free coronavirus test via the government website.

UCL President & Provost Michael Arthur has stated that, “By combining UCL's additional testing provision and our new ‘Connect to Protect’ reporting tool – together with the national systems already in place – we can make sure our campus is as safe as possible for everyone. These new initiatives will augment the wide range of safety measures that we have already introduced.”

“The limited face-to-face activity that has been planned for next term will take place within these guidelines and we will monitor the number of any positive coronavirus cases at UCL very carefully. We are also continuing to follow the latest advice from our public health experts and Government guidance, and we will adapt our response depending on regional and national developments as they emerge,” Arthur added.