The University of Wyoming will conduct upwards of 25,000 COVID-19 tests per week when all students return to campus September 28.
Dr. Will Laegreid, the director of the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab, is in charge of the plan for surveillance testing on campus.
He said that students and employees will receive systematic emails instructing them to go to testing locations around campus. The saliva-based tests will then be sent to the Wyoming State Veterinary Lab and results will be reported to UW within 24 hours.
"Wyoming State Veterinary Lab does a lot of surveillance kind of testing, in other species obviously, and so we're set up to handle this kind of a testing program," said Laegreid. "Like a number of other veterinary labs around the country we've been asked to help out with the human testing."
Laegreid said the surveillance testing plan will save money compared to at-home tests.
"The cost per test will be a fraction of a typical diagnostic test," said Laegreid. "That said, it's still going to be a lot of money because 25,000+ tests a week is a lot of tests."
The surveillance testing is part of UW's plan for a phased opening this fall. Laegreid said it has been difficult to get all the supplies that are necessary, but he is optimistic they will be ready for students by the end of September.
Have a question about this story? Please contact the reporter, Ashley Piccone, at apiccone@uwyo.edu
