LAS CRUCES – New Mexico State University offers flexible testing and protection to restrict the spread of the COVID-19 virus on campus.
As of August 27, 11 positive cases had been discovered in campus residents, all of whom were students, according to NMSU COVID-19. There have been 86 positive cases between students and the university since the school switched to e-learning in March, according to Lori McKee, Executive Director of Health and Welfare.
The Aggie Health and Wellness Center will administer loose tests to any student or college member who has recently had no symptoms.
From August 25 to 27, 40 students, staff and teachers were evaluated after making an appointment with the center. McKee said Aggie HWC staff plan to extend the tests to 50 other people a day next week, September 1-3, due to the fluidity of the tests so far. Tests are performed from 8:30 a. m. 10:30 a. m.
NMSU has worked intensively with the New Mexico Department of Health to coordinate testing for athletes and academics over the past two months. Previously, the Department of Health administered the tests for the university, but now the Department of Health only provides the device for the nasal sampling test. so that the university workers themselves can take the tests.
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McKee said the procedure they had had been effective until now.
The entire procedure takes less than five minutes before the student or college member returns to the road. The effects will be given to the user in 3 to seven days.
When academics from other states moved in on August 7, about a hundred of those academics were randomly evaluated, and 2% of this organization tested positive.
McKee said the school now focuses on evaluating those who pass to and from college and that appointments are temporarily filled out once he sends the email to the entire university.
“The reaction to this (test opportunity) shows how proactive our network is,” McKee said. “They don’t need to put anyone in danger. We have discovered a very intelligent compliance on our campus with other people who wear their mask and wash their handsArray . . . It’s a new way of life and our campus has been very responsive. “
Sydney Chavez, a senior at NMSU, took the test on Wednesday and said it was vital to get tested and make sure you were negative.
Chavez described the procedure as appropriate.
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NMSU performs tests without an appointment. Driving tests would be complicated due to on-campus traffic, according to dr. Judi Voelz, medical director of Aggie HWC.
She hopes the tests will give students, college and staff the confidence to feel on campus.
“The goal of this type of verification is that we can identify and isolate other HIV-positive people quickly, so that we have less chance of spreading them in the community,” Voelz said.
In the future, McKee said aggie HWC will focus on those with symptoms: individual symptomatic tests will be done on request at the center.
The university’s studies component will resume follow-up testing once the TriCore lab is completed. Researchers will perform random tests on campus by sending emails to students and the university asking them to authorize a COVID-19 test.
“That way, we can make a random pattern of our campus anywhere,” McKee said.
Outside of Aggie HWC, the university continues to offer loose resources to students and the university to ensure their safety.
On August 18, nine vending machines called “COVID-19 vending machines” were installed throughout the campus, according to Javier Cordero, nmSU director. The machines are indicated on a map on the university’s website.
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Two of those vending machines, called “reels,” will offer cloth masks to students. These two reel machines, placed at the Corbett Center student union, have a mask that can be kept loose until September 1 with a swipe of an Aggie student ID or access to their Aggie ID number.
Seven other vending machines, called “lockers,” are available to staff and teachers, who supply a variety of loose materials: disposable masks, face masks, protective goggles, disinfectant sprays, and wet wipes. These materials are intended for staff and teachers to keep their facilities and study rooms clean.
The lockers are close to the maximum educational hallways on campus, which is convenient for staff, according to Cordero.
“The machines have already been in use on campus for a little over a week and now we have a concept of using some items,” Lamb said. “Once we have an intelligent reference to the number of products and (what) products that other people will use, we can adjust them as needed. “
Looking to the future, Cordero said the university can simply or simply load vending machines or other supplies, according to the university’s wishes.
“It is vital for us to offer (those supplies) as a university to maintain the well-being of academics, staff and university on campus, and to ensure that academics have a position where they can reach elegance and feel that dominance is sufficiently disinfected for them,” Lamb said. “Our ultimate purpose is to facilitate the installation of these products on campus. “
Miranda Cyr, a member of Report for America Corps, can be contacted mcyr@lcsun-news. com or @mirandabcyr on Twitter. Show your for report for America program in https://bit. ly/LCSNRFA