Faculty and Staff COVID-19 Surveillance Testing Plan

Testing continues to be a central component of our strategy to lessen exposure to and transmission of COVID-19 illness on our campus. The university has adopted plans to conduct surveillance testing of both our unvaccinated and vaccinated employee populations.

Unvaccinated Faculty and Staff with Medical or Religious Exemptions

All unvaccinated employees (meaning employees with approved medical and religious exemptions from the university’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement), must participate in ongoing surveillance testing.  Individual compliance with this requirement will be closely monitored.

Who will be tested: All unvaccinated faculty and staff with approved exemptions.

Frequency: Weekly (every seven days).

Due: Friday by end of day each week.

Beginning date: October 4, 2021.

• Testing availability: Curative on-campus testing kiosk or outside testing venues. Employees may elect to be tested during scheduled work hours.
• Reporting Results: For those using the Curative on-campus testing kiosk, no further steps will be required. All other testing methods will require employees to report their testing information (test date, location/method, and result) into the Safe Start Health check tracking system.

Employees who do not comply with the weekly testing requirement are subject to disciplinary actions up to and including dismissal.

Vaccinated Faculty and Staff

Given the increasing number of “breakthrough” COVID-19 cases among vaccinated individuals, the university has initiated a randomized COVID-19 surveillance testing program of vaccinated employees. Each week a subset of our vaccinated faculty and staff population will receive an email directing them to obtain a COVID-19 test.

• Who will be tested: 10% of the vaccinated faculty and staff population will be selected at random if transmission rates are at medium or high levels for King County per CDC guidelines. The 10% sample rate may be adjusted up or down based on positivity rates.
• Frequency: Weekly.
• Due: Friday of each week following email notification of selection.
• Beginning date: October 4, 2021.
• Testing availability: Curative on-campus testing kiosk, self-tests available in HR, or outside testing venues. Employees may elect to be tested during scheduled work hours.
• Reporting Results: For those using the Curative campus testing kiosk no further steps will be required. All other testing methods will require a self-upload of testing information (Test date, Location/Method, and result) into the Safe Start Health check  tracking system.