Virginia Tech: COVID-19 lab ready to test thousands of student samples

Carla Finkielstein, director of the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the...
Carla Finkielstein, director of the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, said researchers have already assembled 10,000 collection units that will be used to collect samples to analyze for COVID-19.(Virginia Tech)
Published: Aug. 10, 2020 at 12:26 PM EDT
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BLACKSBURG, Va. (WVIR) - Virginia Tech says its COVID-19 Lab is ready to test students as they begin to return to campus this week.

The university says the lab’s capacity of 1,000 tests per day will play an important role to Virginia Tech students and employees.

“This testing capacity has been a key factor in allowing Virginia Tech to plan for fall opening with some in-person instruction and with about one-quarter of our students occupying on-campus residences in Blacksburg,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in a letter to the campus community Monday, August 10.

Virginia Tech says its sample collection uses a less intrusive approach for COVID-19 testing, as it collects the sample from the middle of the nose instead of reaching further up into the sinuses. Additionally, the lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Roanoke tends to deliver results within 24 hours.

Students living on the Virginia Tech campus must be tested for the coronavirus during the move-in time period from August 14 to August 23. Testing is not required for students living off campus.

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