Our groundbreaking work on large scale saliva testing for COVID-19 will be taken forward this autumn, following a successful pilot that many colleagues participated in earlier in the summer.
The second phase of the Southampton COVID-19 Testing Programme will evaluate the application of convenient, non-invasive saliva testing within educational settings, including here at the University.
- In this phase of the Programme, colleagues who work in closer proximity to other people will be identified and invited to take a saliva test, with prompts sent via text message.
- Our students will be encouraged to take a test on their arrival in Southampton – or shortly after their quarantine period if they are required to self-isolate on arrival – then periodically during the autumn term, prompted again by text message.
Through testing of University of Southampton students and some staff, the Programme aims to keep the infection risk low in Southampton and give confidence to colleagues, our students and our local communities.
Arrangements for this phase of the Programme will differ to the testing that took place over the summer. Students and participating staff will receive more information by email over the coming weeks.
