Otterbein required that all students get tested for COVID-19 before they were going to return to campus, but allowed them to attend classes before getting their results back.
Students could get tested off-campus and have their results sent to Otterbein. The university set up a mass-testing for students that could not get tested off-campus. The test occurred on Jan. 18, provided by Mako Medical and administered by the National Guard.
Otterbein began in-person and online classes the following day on January 19. The test results however, would take around 48 hours to be returned to the students.
Unlike other universities, Otterbein started in-person classes before students would receive their results. At Ohio State University, Ohio University, and Kent State University, students were required to have a negative test upon their arrival to campus.
Otterbein debated on sending COVID-19 testing kits, but they did not for many reasons.
“When everyone is at home and in different places, it makes it a little bit more difficult,” said Director of Events and Conferences Matthew D’Oyly. “The other thing that was a reality in December was that the post office wasn’t necessarily reliable.”
Otterbein gave students the opportunity to get tested again the following week after the first week of classes. So far, Otterbein has continued to have some classes in-person after test results came back.
If you do want to get tested by the University, you can request to be on the random asymptomatic testing list. All students can get tested by emailing covid@otterbein.edu.
