Screening and Testing

Screening

Symptomatic Screening

Daily self assessments via the MyRISD app are no longer required. If a student or employee is feeling symptomatic, they will be directed to consult with Student Health Services (students) or notify their supervisor and consult their healthcare provider (employees).

Testing

Vaccinated individuals are still required to test. RISD is working with private, nonprofit agency the Broad Institute (affiliated with MIT and Harvard), to conduct initial and ongoing campus PCR population surveillance testing for COVID-19.

Testing FAQs

Testing Dashboard

Process for Positive Cases

Summer Semester Surveillance Testing

Weekly Testing

  • All designated on-campus employees

Bi-Weekly Testing

  • Students with access to campus
  • Faculty and staff with less frequent on-campus duties

Scheduling

Individuals identified for surveillance testing will receive notification by email with an appointed timeframe for self-administered testing as described above. Community members CANNOT show up to the testing site without an appointment.

Location

Walk-up with appointment
Thompson House
63 Angell Street, first floor
Bring a valid ID (RISD ID, driver’s license, or passport)

Non-compliance

Anyone who does not show up to surveillance testing will be asked to test as soon as possible the following week. The following repercussions are for those who miss testing a second week:

  • Student names will be submitted to their deans and faculty members and they will lose the privilege to access academic buildings.
  • Employee names will be submitted to their supervisors or department heads and they will lose access to campus buildings.

Off-campus Testing

Tests must be taken during the surveillance period for which the individual was selected and must be a PCR test (antigen and rapid tests will not be accepted).

Results from tests completed offsite must be uploaded via a secure Dropbox link, which can be found here (sign-in using RISD email address and password is required to access the doc.) Please do not send your results via email as they contain confidential information.

Diagnostic Testing

All community members who are symptomatic must let the school know and arrange for a diagnostic test by contacting Student Health Services or their health care provider.

Students

Student Health Services has established a new and fully-staffed campus respiratory clinic in Thompson House for evaluation and testing of COVID-19 for students.

Employees

Employees who have symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to the virus should contact their primary care provider and their supervisor as well as get tested at a Rhode Island state testing site closest to them.

Test Results

Test results should be provided to RISD and to individuals tested within 24 hours of all samples being picked up from the testing site. A courier collects all samples at the end of each testing day to transport them to the lab in Cambridge, MA. The lab then works through the night and following morning to process all samples and return results within 24 hours. Occasionally during times of peak testing, results will take longer than 24 hours.

Negative results will come via email from CareEvolve@lknotification.com.

Positive results will be communicated by phone from a RISD clinician.

Invalid test results are communicated by phone from a RISD clinician. In some cases, an invalid test result call may not happen right away. Students, if you have not received a result after 24-36 hours, please contact Health Services at health@risd.edu. Employees, if you have not received a result after 24–36 hours, please contact Karen Chase, Employee Health Coordinator, at kchase@risd.edu.

Inconclusive results are neither positive nor negative, but require additional testing. This result can indicate a very early or very late infection; an infection with a variant; or contamination from a surface or lab environment. RISD will treat an inconclusive test result as a “presumptive positive,” with the following response protocol:

  • Until repeat testing either confirms the positive or is negative, students will be required to isolate in on-campus isolation housing or their off-campus residence and employees will be required to isolate at home.
  • If the follow-up test is positive, students/employees will complete 10 days of isolation.
  • If the follow-up test is negative, students/employees will be released and an early release notification will be sent to academic staff, faculty or supervisors.
  • If the follow-up test is negative but a student/employee is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, RISD Health Services (students) or a primary care physician (employees) will manage the cases individually.

You can also check for your results by logging into the Patient Portal, managed by The Broad Institute.

Health Insurance

Diagnostic testing for COVID-19 will be covered by the RISD student health insurance policy and the RISD employee health insurance policy at approved locations. Hospitalization and treatment for COVID-19 is covered like any standard medical treatment. RISD will cover the cost of testing upon arrival and surveillance testing.

RISD will make options available to its on-campus faculty and staff for obtaining COVID-19 testing when employees do not have health insurance available to cover the cost of testing.