Colorado Mesa University (CMU) had been administering hundreds of COVID-19 tests every week, and transitioned to random saliva tests earlier in the semester.
The process of saliva testing look similar to the nasal tests that the school had been conducting. Random students are still being selected to be tested in order to get an accurate scanning of the campus for COVID-19.
However, unlike nasal tests, saliva tests are supposed to cause less discomfort to the person being tested in comparison to the nasal tests.
According to a study done by the University of Colorado Boulder, turnaround times for saliva tests can be as quick as 45 minutes. Faster turnaround times will allow CMU to conduct more tests and have better tracking of both COVID-19 positive cases and contact tracing associated with the cases.
CMU hopes to test several hundred students a week with the saliva tests.
The prevalence of tests can also account for the increase in positive cases on campus. According to CMU’s data dashboard, the two-week prevalence rate has fluctuated anywhere from 0.2% to 3% as the weeks have gone on – it’s currently at a 0.2% rate.
