Jan 15: Update from EVP, Provost, Director Health Services

January 15, 2021

Dear Members of the BC Community:

Classes will be resuming soon and we wish to provide information on the COVID-19 testing plan and schedule for the start of the spring semester on January 28.

The University requires all students, faculty, and staff who will be on campus during the spring semester, including those who may have received a COVID-19 vaccination, to be tested for the coronavirus. Testing will take place in Conte Forum between January 19 and January 31, with the first week devoted to faculty, staff, graduate/professional students, and undergraduates living off campus. The second week will primarily be for undergraduate students in University housing, and will be tied to their residence hall move-in. Undergraduate students must be tested before they will be allowed in their residence hall.

All students must quarantine in their residence halls or off-campus apartments until they receive their test results, which is expected to be within 26 hours after samples reach the laboratory. Food will be provided for the quarantine period for students living on campus when they exit the testing site. 

All faculty, students, and staff planning to be on campus will be required to test January 19-31, except those who have tested positive via a valid PCR test within the previous 90 days. Undergraduates in this category will not be required to quarantine upon arrival.  Undergraduate, graduate, and professional students meeting this 90-day criterion who tested positive away from BC and/or during winter break must upload the appropriate documentation to University Health Services via the University’s AGORA portal no later than 24 hours prior to their test day on campus. (Antibody and antigen testing, as well as other tests, do not satisfy this requirement.)   

Parents/guardians from out of state accompanying their students to campus should follow the Massachusetts COVID-19 Travel Order.

Except for undergraduates living on campus, members of the BC community may walk in at any time for their COVID-19 test during the hours listed below. We encourage all faculty and staff to obtain their tests during the week of January 19-23, and they can schedule a time via BC’s Information Technology Services Google Form application scheduler. Times will be organized in half-hour blocks and an automatic confirmation will be sent. Wristbands will be distributed after testing, and all members of the BC community will be asked to wear them through February 12.  All who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days must acquire a wristband at the Conte Forum test site. (Faculty and staff must provide documentation of a positive PCR test to University Health Services in Conte).

The following link provides a map of the Conte Forum Testing Site. The testing schedule is as follows:

For faculty, staff, graduate/professional students, and undergraduates living off-campus:

• Tuesday, January 19 | 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Wednesday, January 20 | 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Thursday, January 21 | 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Friday, January 22 | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Saturday, January 23 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For undergraduates living on campus and who have pre-registered for move in, as well as those faculty, staff, graduate/professional students and undergraduates living off campus who have yet to complete the testing requirement:

• Sunday, January 24 | 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Monday, January 25 | 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Tuesday, January 26 | 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Wednesday, January 27 | 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Thursday, January 28 | 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
• Friday, January 29 | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Saturday, January 30 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
• Sunday, January 31 | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Targeted Asymptomatic Testing Resumes (Please monitor your BC email inbox):

Monday, February 1, (Connell Recreation Center MAC Court Testing Site) 8:00 am – 3:30 pm

The University will continue symptomatic and targeted asymptomatic testing for all BC community members throughout the second semester, regardless of whether or not individuals receive a COVID-19 vaccination.  In addition, all at BC, including those who have been vaccinated and/or who have tested positive for the virus in the past, will be expected to follow all University, CDC, and state public health COVID-19 requirements. These include mask-wearing, monitoring symptoms on a daily basis via the BC Check app, maintaining physical distancing, avoiding gatherings, and following testing, quarantine, and isolation protocols. 

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms should not enter the Conte Forum testing site.  Students with symptoms should not return to campus without first receiving a negative PCR test, and faculty and staff with symptoms should not come to campus and should contact their primary care physician.  If you have any COVID-19 testing-related questions, please feel free to contact University Health Services at: covidtesting@bc.edu

We had a successful fall semester, and we ask for your cooperation and support again in following University and public health protocols so that we may have a safe, healthy, and productive spring semester. 

Sincerely,