What will it take to reopen colleges? Testing for COVID-19 every two days, study says

Colleges should test students for COVID-19 every two days to safely reopen during the pandemic, according to a new study.

Frequently screening students for coronavirus using a rapid and inexpensive test with even poor sensitivity will be required to open campuses safely, the study published Friday in the journal JAMA Network Open says. Only testing students with symptoms is not a sufficient way to stop outbreaks, researchers say.

The study modeled a hypothetical college campus of 5,000 students with 10 undetected and asymptomatic cases. The model suggests testing every two days with a low-sensitivity, high-specificity test and implementing prevention measures would allow schools to reopen cost effectively with a manageable number of infections.

However, the authors of the study, hailing from Harvard and Yale, say it may not be attainable for all colleges.

“This sets a very high bar — logistically, financially, and behaviorally — that may be beyond the reach of many university administrators and the students in their care,” the study says.

A campus of 5,000 students every two days during an abbreviated 80-day semester will require 195,000 tests at a cost anywhere between $10 and $50 each, according to the study.

Yale public health expert A. David Paltiel, the lead author of the study, told CNN schools unable to reach these student testing measures should reconsider opening.

“Our view is that if you can’t see your way toward at least minimal meeting of these screening standards or maintaining control over prevention, then a school really needs to ask itself if it has any business reopening,” Paltiel told CNN.

Some colleges plan to use similarly frequent testing of students. The University of Illinois announced Monday it will test students, faculty and staff twice a week if they “participate in any on-campus activities.” At Boston University, undergraduate students will be tested twice weekly while graduate students will undergo testing once a week.

In Iowa, Cornell College will randomly test 3% of its student population of 1,000 every week using a rapid test, The New York Times reported. More sophisticated testing will be used on students with symptoms, the newspaper reported.

“Although the title and the basic finding is that there is a way to reopen college safely as long as you screen every two or three days and adhere strictly to social distancing, the subtext I think is pretty clear,” Paltiel told Inside Higher Ed. “This is an exceptionally high bar, and it may well be beyond the capacity of many schools.”