MILWAUKEE — Rapid-result coronavirus testing is now available at UW-Milwaukee.
The UW System is partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to lead a massive "surge testing" effort throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Starting Tuesday, Nov. 10, staff, students, and anyone from the public is welcome to go online and pre-register for a free Abbot BinaxNOW test, which can provide test results in as few as 15 minutes.
The federal government is providing 250,000 of the tests to the UW System. More than 40,000 tests will go to the UW-Milwaukee campus. The Milwaukee campus will be able to administer up to 1,500 tests per day, according to Dr. Aamir Siddiqi, UWM Campus Health Officer.
The goal of the rapid result testing is to slow the spread of the virus.
"Testing, testing, testing, will allow us to remove some who may not know that we have COVID-19 and keep ourselves away from the community," said Dr. Siqqiqi.
The tests are self-administered nasal swab tests and the HHS is distributing them in areas where extra support may be needed due to recent spikes in coronavirus cases, according to a press release from the UW System.
For some students on campus, the rapid result tests will provide a sense of relief.
"It’s obviously a big stress, because we are all living with other people and we want to expose ourselves as little as possible," said UWM student Kaiden Schmidt. "The only way to stop this thing is to get more people tested so we can track it very closely."
If someone does test positive for the coronavirus, or has symptoms but tests negative during their rapid-test, they will be issued a second, standard COVID-19 test that can confirm a positive case of COVID-19, with results available in 2-3 days.
It's an effort that everyone navigating the coronavirus pandemic can now take advantage of.
To register for a free coronavirus test at a UW-campus, click HERE.
To see hours and test site locations, click HERE.