Testing

Testing

Students and employees are currently required to participate in the college’s COVID-19 testing program. Smith’s asymptomatic testing program is managed by the Broad Institute.

This dashboard will be updated daily. In accordance with applicable privacy laws, the college will not release any personally identifying information regarding individual cases.

SCHEDULE A COVID-19 TEST

 

Changes to COVID-19 Testing Hours

On Monday, May 16, the COVID-19 testing center hours are changing to reflect the reduced campus population. Please review the May 12, 2022 notice for details.

 

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View a text-based version of the COVID-19 Screening Data.

This dashboard only reports PCR test results from the on-campus screening program. During the 2022 spring recess, there were a total of 35 positive cases within the Smith community. These positives include both those PCR results shared on the dashboard and 2 employee and 16 student rapid antigen tests that returned positive results. Students who tested positive via rapid antigen tests were placed in isolation, as reflected in the dashboard.

Notes

The following groups are included in the college’s mandatory, twice-weekly coronavirus screening: students approved to be in residence on or near campus and approved on-campus employees. Smith’s asymptomatic screening program is managed by the Broad Institute.

Only figures relating to the on-campus screening of employees and students are in included in these data.

While an initial 124 single-occupancy rooms have been set aside for quarantine and isolation, Smith College has the flexibility to add several additional houses as either isolation or quarantine space as needed.

National and state data from CDC COVID-19 Electronic Laboratory Reporting (CELR), Commercial Laboratories, State Public Health Labs, and In-House Hospital Labs via The US Department of Health and Human Services under an Open Data Commons Attribution License. For details on federal data definitions please refer here.

County data is provided by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is updated weekly. For more info about COVID response reporting in Massachusetts, please click here.


Tested positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms? Here’s what to do.

STOP: If you are a student who has tested positive for COVID-19, contact testingandtracing@smith.edu immediately.

If you have tested positive for COVID-19, visit the Schacht Center COVID-19 webpage for more information.

  1. A contact tracer will notify you of your test result and perform a state-required interview.
  2. Isolate for 5 days.
    • Contact tracers will work with individuals living on campus to identify an appropriate isolation space and place the student on a short term medical absence if needed.
    • Individuals living on campus who test positive and can get home via a personal vehicle may work with Health Services to determine whether they can complete their isolation at their off-campus home. Please speak with a Schacht Center for Health and Wellness staff member before leaving campus.
    • Employees and individuals living off campus should isolate at home and notify their supervisor that they will be home for at least five days.
  3. On your fifth day of isolation, if your symptoms are improving, you have been fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of medication, and you have not been advised by a medical provider to isolate longer:
    • Students may exit isolation and must continue to mask and use only grab-and-go dining for an additional five days. 
    • Employees may return to their regular work schedule and must continue to mask for an additional five days.
  4. Following isolation, do not participate in the Smith College PCR testing program for 90 days.

Reminder

This guidance only applies to fully vaccinated individuals. Those who have received approved exemptions from vaccinations or who are eligible for but have not yet received a booster must quarantine at home.

  1. Students should continue attending class and employees should continue working, but must wear a mask around others for 10 full days and monitor themselves for any COVID-related symptoms. Employees are encouraged to discuss the option for remote work with their supervisors during this period.
  2. If asymptomatic, complete a required PCR test on day 5 following exposure. A contact tracer will provide close contacts with the exact date to be tested.
  3. If COVID-like symptoms develop, contact the Schacht Center immediately at 413.585.2250 to schedule a symptomatic test.

  1. Do not test at the Campus Center test site if you have symptoms associated with COVID.
  2. Students and employees who develop symptoms should submit a PCR test to the self-collection kiosk (see details in the “Self-Collection Kiosk (Symptomatic)” section above. They may also access an antigen test at the kiosk to administer at home. Employees or students who develop symptoms Friday - Sunday and do not have access to a home antigen test should email testingandtracing@smith.edu who can assist them in acquiring a test on campus. 
  3. Anyone who tests positive using an antigen test should email testingandtracing@smith.edu as soon as possible, and follow the instructions under the “I have tested positive for COVID-19” section.
  4. Do not attend class or work until your symptoms have improved and you have received a negative rapid antigen or PCR test result. Wear a mask at all times.

If you believe you have been exposed outside of your presence on campus and are asymptomatic, wear a mask around others for 10 full days and monitor yourself for any COVID-related symptoms. Complete a PCR test on day 5 following exposure.