UBC offering students COVID-19 rapid screening tests in new pilot project

Students and staff who live or work in first-year residence at UBC are being offered rapid COVID-19 screening tests as part of a pilot project.

Running from now until April 8, the project is a collaboration between the federal and provincial governments, Providence Health Care, Vancouver Coastal Health, UBC’s School of Nursing, and Student Housing and Community Services.

The goal of the initiative is to help “make first-year residence safer by identifying positive cases and interrupting possible chains of transmission,” according to UBC. As an added incentive, all eligible students who register will be entered to win one of three Beats Pro Headphones OR Apple AirPod Pros.

Eligibility applies specifically to students and staff who are living or working in Orchard Commons and həm̓ləsəm̓ House in Totem Park, and are over 16 years of age. Those who previously tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days are excluded.

• See also:
  • Mandatory hotel quarantine for international travellers to take effect on February 22
  • 458 cases of COVID-19 variants detected across Canada
  • City of Vancouver cancels annual homeless count due to COVID-19

Interested participants are asked to schedule their appointments online – twice a week, with at least one day between appointments. Screening tests take place in Orchard Commons on Tuesdays, Wednesdays (afternoons only), Thursdays, and Fridays between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm and 2:20 pm and 5:30 pm.

The entire process takes between 20 and 30 minutes, and participants are asked to bring their student/staff UBC card with them as well as their provincial health insurance number.