NCC has partnered up with SHIELD Illinois for the 2021 spring semester. This new program provides the school with weekly saliva-based COVID-19 testing.
Recently, President Hammond reached out to all campus community members in an email. The email informed all faculty and staff of a new COVID-19 procedure available to them.
“Today, we are very pleased to offer the opportunity to participate in a weekly asymptomatic COVID-19 testing option for all faculty and staff who plan to come to campus on a continuing basis,” said Hammond in the email.
The weekly testing is optional. However, the other option is to participate in the school’s surveillance testing program. Peter Barger, the co-chair of the COVID-19 Institutional Response Team, sent out a separate email regarding the surveillance testing.
“Once selected, individuals will be provided with additional details about the testing process and will be able to schedule a testing appointment through their MySHIELDIllinois account,” said Barger in the email.
The Office of Human Resources has follow-up information regarding this new option for testing. It explains how NCC faculty and staff can take advantage of this weekly testing.
In addition, the school’s new Health Sciences and Engineering building is now the new testing location. The recently-constructed building can now handle quick and efficient testing so that NCC can get test results back quickly and efficiently.
Hope for this semester
The start of the new year presents similar challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic. From Jan. 22–28, the college reported nine total positive tests, according to the school’s positive test website.
The school hopes that the weekly COVID-19 testing option can bring some peace of mind. Lately, Dupage County, along with the rest of Illinois, has begun lifting restrictions. NCC hopes to follow suit. Needless to say, the school also wants to keep its community as healthy as possible, and SHIELD testing is another way to achieve this goal.
