Participate in voluntary and free COVID-19 testing

Your participation in a wide-ranging effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 to help keep the University of Georgia and surrounding communities healthy and safe is requested.

Testing of individuals without symptoms, called surveillance testing, is a key component of the University’s multi-pronged approach to promoting the health and safety of the campus community. The virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread by people who test positive, but do not show symptoms (asymptomatic individuals). Our surveillance testing program is designed to identify these people, so they can self-isolate quickly and their close contacts can be notified by the Department of Public Health. A subset of participants will also be invited to continue testing every 2-3 weeks to monitor and detect changes in infection patterns to produce longitudinal data that will inform our containment efforts.

Our plan was recommended by the Medical Oversight Task Force, comprised of the executive director of the University Health Center (UHC) and the deans of the College of Public Health, Veterinary Medicine, and the AU/UGA Medical Partnership. The plan calls for 24,000 tests to be conducted by Thanksgiving, at a rate of up to 300 tests per day, on samples collected from volunteers among our faculty, staff, and students.

By participating in the voluntary testing program, you can play a critical role in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 on campus and in surrounding communities. You are welcome to get tested more than once, though our medical experts would ask that you wait 2-3 weeks between negative tests, as this is the most effective gap between tests for COVID-19 surveillance. As a reminder, symptomatic individuals should not seek out testing at the surveillance test site. Surveillance testing is for asymptomatic individuals only. Symptomatic students can receive testing at UHC, but must call ahead to book appointments (706-542-1162). Symptomatic faculty and staff should contact their primary care physician for further guidance and testing locations.

Surveillance testing is free and paid for by UGA. The UGA surveillance testing site will be located at Legion Field directly across Lumpkin Street and the Tate Center. Parking is available at the Tate Center Parking Deck or the Hull Street Parking Deck. When you arrive at the Legion Field COVID-19 testing site, access to the testing site will be clearly marked at the entrance to Legion Pool (which will remain closed). Appointments are by reservation only at this time to ensure social distancing and to avoid unnecessary wait times.

Please keep in mind that testing is limited and will increase in capacity daily until we reach a maximum capacity of approximately 300 tests per day on or near Monday, Aug. 17.

To make a reservation, please visit the COVID-19 testing portal. To protect your personal information, you must access this website on a UGA campus network or via VPN.

We want to personally thank you for everything you are doing to help the University address the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. More detailed information about surveillance testing can be found on UGA’s website.