University of California, Davis: UC Davis COVID-19 Testing Moving to New Location
The campus’s COVID-19 testing center is moving, but it isn’t going far.
After conducting more than a million tests there, the testing operation will leave the Activities and Recreation Center next week and move across the street to the Human Resources Administration Building, on the newly renamed Blue Ridge Road.
The now-voluntary testing program will open in its new location July 5, and will be open Sunday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. From that date it will only be available to students and employees, and appointments (made on Health-e-Messaging) will be required.
The move means the four basketball courts inside the Activities and Recreation Center, or ARC, can finally be used for recreation again. There are students on campus who have never seen anything on those courts but testing stations and hand sanitizer dispensers, but officials with Campus Recreation say they were proud to play a role in UC Davis’ nationally recognized efforts to fight the pandemic.
“We’re really excited to get our courts back, but we’re also glad that we were able to provide space for these important testing efforts,” said Andy Ramirez, associate director for Campus Recreation.
He said the increased court space will allow Campus Recreation to fulfill its mission of serving more students.
Those students, who have been sharing a single court for half-court basketball and badminton games, will now have four more courts for play. Youth programs will also use the courts over the summer when it’s too hot or smoky outside.
Testing on campus moved inside the ARC in November 2020. The total number of tests performed at the ARC has topped 1 million; the Genome Center, which processes tests from the ARC, Healthy Davis Together and other locations, has processed more than 2 million tests during the pandemic.
Testing optional, Symptom Survey still required for employees
The move also coincides with the closure of all Healthy Davis Together testing sites, although tests are still available through local pharmacies and other sites, and can be requested by mail from the federal government.
COVID-19 testing on the Sacramento campus will also continue to operate, with new hours: 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 6-11 a.m. Friday.
Regular testing became optional Friday (June 24), but anyone testing positive is still required to notify the university; those diagnosed with COVID-19 are also required to maintain isolation in accordance with public health guidelines.
The university’s asymptomatic testing program will continue to be available through the end of 2022.
Another recent change: Students are no longer required to complete the Daily Symptom Survey, but campus employees must still submit one every time they come to a university facility.