There are currently 7 people in isolation with 39 students quarantined after being exposed to COVID-19 since Tuesday.
Risk management is currently looking for a new company to provide COVID testing on campus. The previous company, GoGetTested.com, is no longer interested due to the amount of people on campus. However, there is a smaller company that might be interested in providing COVID tests.
“We are still talking about that right now, so we’re in the early stages of trying to find a replacement for that,” executive director of risk management Matt Moustakas said. “I’m optimistic, but it is so early I can’t say really.”
COVID-19 testing will be a little more limited in the future, so those who have possibly been exposed to the virus or to those who are experiencing symptoms can get tested.
“They’re getting a little more strict about ‘have you really been exposed, or have you really had symptoms,’ because the Cares Act and the insurance companies have gotten a little more strict about that,” Moustakas said. “People could walk up and get tested every other day, so it may be a little but different. If you have a need, you should be able to get tested for free, but it might be a little more limited.”
Texas Woman’s University has not gotten any more vaccinations in the past week, and it is still unknown whether or not TWU will receive any more for the following week from the state. Although TWU is starting to administer vaccines, it is still encouraged to follow all protocols.
“In the short term, [the vaccines] don’t really change anything,” Moustakas said. “It’s only the beginning for us as far as the response of this pandemic. TWU has done very well overall, as far as controlling the spread in the TWU community. However, this is probably the most dangerous part of the pandemic even though the vaccine has come out.”
“We have to just be on our guard and do all of the things we’ve been doing and not get complacent.”
TWU is starting to discuss plans and protocols for the fall semester of 2021. There are no set plans on how the semester will look.
“I think it may be a little early considering we don’t really know how the roll out of the vaccine is going to go, and we got those new strains out there,” Moustakas said. “There is a lot of basic information that the CDC can’t even really tell us about like once you’re vaccinated can you still spread it. There’s a lot of unknowns unfortunately.”
Laura Pearson can be contacted via email at lpearson6@twu.edu
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