Covid-19 testing available to students and staff
Free Covid-19 tests are available to all campus-based students and staff under the Scottish Government and UK Government’s testing programme and in the University’s TestEd Research programme.
There are a number of Covid-19 testing options available to students and staff, and we encourage regular testing.
Lateral flow tests
In partnership with the Scottish Government, all staff and students have access to rapid, twice weekly testing using a lateral flow device, even if they have no symptoms. Students and staff who are attending campus are encouraged to use this service, based at The Pleasance. The Scottish Government is also providing kits for use at home for everyone living in Scotland.
Test if you have symptoms
People who have symptoms of Covid-19 or who have been in contact with somebody who has tested positive for the virus should continue to access free a PCR test from the NHS.
TestEd research programme
In addition to lateral flow testing, the University and the UK Medical Research Council are supporting a research programme called TestEd, which has developed an innovative new approach to Covid-19 testing. TestEd uses PCR-based testing of saliva samples and is currently available at multiple sample collection centres across the University. Over the coming weeks, Covid-19 testing through the TestEd programme will be made available to the University‘s entire population of staff and students.
Participation in TestEd is voluntary and, aside from the convenience of testing saliva rather than nasal swabs, sample collection in the TestEd programme takes place at multiple locations across the University. TestEd testing can be carried out in addition to lateral flow testing.
Why is regular testing important?
Many people infected with Covid-19 never develop symptoms and are unaware they have the disease. They can still pass the virus to other people and around half of virus transmission is thought to occur in this way. Identifying asymptomatic infections is a key strategy for cutting chains of Covid-19 transmission.
Campus-based students and staff can book a lateral flow test using a nasal swab at the Pleasance for free, and receive results in around 30 minutes. The TestEd PCR approach is a saliva-based test and returns results the following day. Testing through the TestEd programme does not require booking for a test but requires registration and consent through the TestEd programme.
What is TestEd?
TestEd is a research programme for Covid-19 testing that aims to develop a blueprint for Covid-19 testing in large communities such as the University. It uses a unique PCR strategy called hypercube sample pooling to process dozens of tests at once. This saves time and money while maintaining accuracy compared to alternative techniques, and still enables individual results to be identified. As a research project, testing within the TestEd programme has not yet been approved by medical regulators.
Providing a sample is quick, convenient and easy – it takes a few minutes to provide a small saliva sample deposited into a tube at one of the designated University locations and results are received within 24 hours.
The ambition is to create large-scale sample processing with testing being made available to the wider University community in the coming months. This will be complemented by surveys and interviews to understand people’s experience of testing and public health measures.
Staff will receive an email invitation to take part in the project when sample donation becomes available in their area over the coming weeks.
What happens if I test positive?
Anyone who tests positive with either a lateral flow test or TestEd should self-isolate, follow government guidance and book an NHS diagnostic test as soon as possible.
Can I use my test results for international travel?
Neither the lateral flow test results nor TestEd results are accepted as proof of negative Covid-19 status for the purposes of international travel.
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