BEST attempt at suppressing the spread of COVID-19: U of I’s testing program
To say that I was skeptical of the U of I’s plans to welcome back tens of thousands of young people to a relatively small area during a global pandemic is a bit of an understatement. Testing everyone a bazillion times a week seemed like it wouldn’t work, and I had no faith that young people would abide by physical distancing protocols. Turns out I wasn’t entirely wrong, but the U of I stepped in, and students seemed to step up to the challenge of squashing rapidly increasing cases.
It’s definitely not perfect, and testing does not stop the spread of the virus, but the testing program has greatly helped mitigate unchecked transmission across campus and into the community. The science is impressive, the scale of the operation is impressive, and I am only one of many who are looking forward to having the same types of tests available to the non-academic community. (Jessica Hammie)
Top image from Illini Union’s Facebook page.
