SUNY To Require Coronavirus Tests For Students Before Holidays

NEW YORK — All SUNY students who use on-campus facilities will be required to test negative for the new coronavirus before they can leave for the holidays.

SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced the requirement Monday.

He said that, with in-person classes and instruction coming to a close in November, tens of thousands of students will be traveling to be with families and completing fall courses remotely.

"By requiring all students to test negative before leaving, we are implementing a smart, sensible policy that protects students' families and hometown communities and drastically reduces the chances of COVID-19 community spread," Malatras said in a news release.

All students who are taking at least one class on campus, using campus services such as the gym, library or dining hall or working on campus must test negative for the virus within 10 days prior to their college closing on-campus instruction and services.

SUNY officials said antibody tests will not count toward the requirement.

Malatras said that all 64 of SUNY's colleges and universities must develop schedules that conduct the test as close to a student's departure date as possible.

That translates into about 140,000 students over a 10-day period preceding Thanksgiving break, SUNY officials said.

Colleges and universities must submit their plans to test all on-campus students within that 10-day window no later than Nov. 5.

The colleges will be required work with their county health departments to isolate or quarantine any residential student who tests positive for the new coronavirus or is exposed to it within 14 days of the close of the fall semester. The colleges will have to fully attend to students' varying needs throughout these quarantine and isolation periods.

Most SUNY schools will shift to 100 percent remote learning after Thanksgiving, with residential facilities shutting down, barring exceptions for students with extenuating circumstances.

Malatras said that colleges are advised to "repeatedly and emphatically" reinforce that students should strictly limit contact, wear masks and practice social distancing between the time they are tested and the time they leave campus.

SUNY faculty and staff are being strongly recommended to be tested within the same time period, pursuant to union agreements.