The university will be implementing regular COVID-19 testing of undergraduate students on the Winona Campus for spring semester 2021. The goal of this testing is to detect cases of COVID-19 in the Winona Campus community and quickly move individuals who test positive into environments where they can get needed medical attention and prevent the virus from spreading.
All undergraduate students on the Winona Campus are required to be tested for COVID-19 at the university’s mass testing event, offered in partnership with Hy-Vee, on Friday, Jan. 29, 2021, in the Gostomski Fieldhouse from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The fieldhouse will be closed to all non-athletes that day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The weight room/cardio room will be open to student-athletes only.
To register for the testing event:
- Pre-register online through the Hy-Vee portal — use the exact name on your student ID card and the campus address of 700 Terrace Heights, Winona, MN 55987 (mailbox # not necessary).
- Print your voucher — all residence halls have printers. If you cannot print your voucher, please take a screenshot of it.
On Friday, Jan. 29, 2021:
- Enter through the doors closest to Saint Benilde Hall during your assigned time.
- Walk along the track (closest to the catwalk) to the registration tables.
- Present your voucher to the volunteer at the registration table.
- Walk to an open table where a Hy-Vee pharmacist will explain the process for the collection of your test sample. A YouTube instructional video may also be sent in advance of the testing event.
- Finish the test (shallow nasal swab) and drop it in the designated receptacle.
- Exit around the other side of the track and out the main doors of Gostomski Fieldhouse.
Make sure you save your Hy-Vee portal login information. Test results will be sent back to your Hy-Vee portal. If you are selected to be part of the surveillance testing, you will use that same login to print a new voucher for that testing.
Starting Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, and continuing through at least Monday, March 29, 2021, the university will require weekly COVID-19 testing of a random sample of 10% of all undergraduate students — living on or off campus. The goal of this surveillance testing is to decrease the hidden spread of the virus. Surveillance testing will occur every Friday from 12:30 to 1 p.m. in the gymnasium. Students will be contacted via email and/or text when they are selected for the surveillance testing. Please then log back into your Hy-Vee portal and print a voucher for the day you were assigned. When you arrive for your test, present your voucher to the volunteers to receive your test kit. The results will be sent to your Hy-Vee portal.
Certain groups of students are exempted from the mass testing and weekly surveillance testing requirements, including:
- Students who have tested positive in the past 90 days. To claim this exemption, the student must send a copy of their past positive test result to the Jay Johnson Wellness Center at wellnesscenter@smumn.edu.
- Student-athletes who are practicing or competing. These students are being tested regularly as part of the testing protocols for student-athletes mandated by the Minnesota Department of Health, the NCAA, and the MIAC.
All undergraduate students on the Winona Campus are required to comply with any assigned testing throughout the entirety of the term. As a condition of returning to campus or participating in any university program, community members must follow policies and guidance issued by the university, including testing protocols.
If a student does not submit to a required testing, the student will be contacted by the Office of Student Affairs to discuss the situation. Students who inform the Office of Student Affairs in advance of a conflict with the testing will be required to test at the next available opportunity. For the health and safety of the community, students that do not comply with testing requirements may be required to quarantine for 14 days. They may also be referred to the Office of Student Affairs for disciplinary action.