Terra State to begin on-campus COVID-19 testing to students and employees
Terra State Community College will begin offering COVID-19 testing on campus to students and employees on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
In partnership with The Bellevue Hospital, the College will be administering RT-PCR test which is done by nasopharyngeal swab administered by Terra State medical assisting students. This test type will indicate if there is an active infection or not. The samples with be taken to The Bellevue Hospital where they will be sent to LabCorp to be analyzed. Results for the test can take between 2 and 5 business days before results are communicated to the person being tested via an app and their residing county’s health department.
Tests will be available to students and employees that are symptomatic, have been in contact with some who tested positive, caring for someone who has tested positive or needs test results for a job.
"I am excited to have COVID-19 testing available for our employees and students. We have been taking direct steps in line with the recommendations put forth by the CDC, local health departments, and Governor DeWine,” said Jennifer Kin, Campus Safety manager and COVID-19 coordinator, “I believe that this will also give us a more comprehensive picture of this virus on our campus. Our top priority is keeping our campus community safe."
If Sandusky County sees a spike in case numbers, Terra State is willing to open the testing lab for the public to have the opportunity to be tested. At this time, no public requests will be made.
COVID-19 testing is offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 – 11 a.m. Students and employees looking to be tested are asked to email covid19testing@terra.edu first to make an appointment. Students, employees and visitors are also asked to email covid19@terra.edu if they are symptomatic or have tested positive.
Terra State is currently in the process of implementing a COVID-19 dashboard at terra.edu/covid19 to display current case numbers between students and employees.