One institute of higher learning in Texas will require students to test negative for the coronavirus before returning to school.
According to an email sent to students on Tuesday, Baylor University officials will mandate that students submit to coronavirus testing or they will not be allowed on campus. The school plans to send all students testing kits beginning next week.
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“Baylor is requiring a negative COVID-19 test of all students coming to campus for the fall semester. We are mailing mandatory COVID-19 test kits to students beginning next week,” the announcement read.
Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has explicitly stated it doesn’t believe testing students before returning to school adds any value to lessening the spread of the virus, Baylor has decided to go ahead and test every one of its students anyway.
“CDC does not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff,” read an entry on the CDC’s website. “Testing of all students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 before allowing campus entry (entry testing) has not been systematically studied. It is unknown if entry testing in [institutions of higher education] provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected with implementation of other infection preventive measures.”
The instructions come amid a spike in coronavirus cases in Texas, with health officials on Wednesday recording 9,042 new cases and 313 new fatalities.
