Surveillance Testing

 

Note: If on your scheduled day of testing, the college is functioning fully remote due to weather conditions, you still must test within that week. You may choose to go any day testing is open. However, if you are not scheduled to be on campus the rest of that week, you may resume testing the next week you are scheduled to be on campus.

Pursuant to SUNY’s COVID-19 Surveillance Testing Program, Nassau Community College (NCC) will continue its Surveillance Testing for the Fall 2022 Semester. As a reminder, the testing requirement is to help ensure health and safety and the College There is no cost to students or employees for the pooled testing.

COVID-19 Surveillance Account 

Prior to testing, individuals will be required to create a COVID-19 Surveillance Account and complete their profile. For help with creating your account, download these step-by-step instructions. This is a one-time process. Students or employees who have created a profile do not need to create a new account. 

NCC COVID-19 Surveillance Testing – General Information

Individuals will provide saliva samples, which will then be pooled into a group of 10-12. The testing is done using saliva rather than by swabs that are inserted in a person’s nose. Individuals will administer the tests themselves, swabbing their mouths for 10 or 15 seconds each, and provide the saliva samples to College personnel or volunteers. Samples will then be sent for processing , where they will be combined into one large sample for testing. Results will be provided by Quadrant Bioscience Lab approximately 2-4 business days after testing has been conducted.

Final results are emailed directly by the lab to your email used in registration. It is strongly recommended to use your NCC email when registering.  All individuals who test MUST check their email, or log-in to their surveillance testing account, to receive their test results. Notification of surveillance test results will not be sent from the College, other than in the following circumstances:

• Individuals will only receive email notices from the College (covidtestingncc@ncc.edu) when they are in a ‘positive pool’ or if there is an issue with processing their test.
• The ‘positive pool’ email will contain instructions to isolate until repeat testing is conducted on all individual samples in the pool.
• Your individual test result within your surveillance testing account will remain listed as “pending” during the 24-48 hour period when repeat testing is conducted.
• It will be the responsibility of the individual to follow up on the status of their individual test result after they receive notice from the College that they are in a positive pool.

Please review the possible test results you will receive from the lab, and how to proceed:

• “Pending”: your test result is still being processed by the lab.
• “Negative”: your test is negative and you are able to return to campus. If you are in a positive pool, you may end your isolation.
• “Positive”: your test result is positive and you must isolate for 5 days. Please follow the instructions for reporting positive test results above. Please report this result via the MyNCC Portal's or NCC Mobile App's “Report a Positive Test, Exposure, or Symptoms” Form.

• If your test results remain as “Pending” 4 to 5 days after the test was conducted, it may mean one of the following errors:

• 1. Name Mismatch: Name on collection tube does not match name in profile. Legal First and Last name are required. i.e. Robert, not Bob.

  2. Date of Birth (DOB) Mismatch: DOB on collection tube does not match DOB in profile.

  3. Sample not registered in App: Test registration was not completed by clicking "Submit Test."

  4. Organization Mismatch: Patient selected wrong organization at registration. Edit Profile to select the correct organization.

  5. Profile missing: Patient does not have a profile registered to App.

Individuals will be notified via email if there is a testing error, provided with instructions on how to correct the error or instructions to test again the next time they are on Campus.

Requirements

1. Testing is required to be completed:
   1. Students:
      
      1. Once a week for students with medical or religious exemptions, or those in progress to be fully vaccinated (ie, granted a medical accommodation).
   2. Employees:
      1. Once a week for employees who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Employees will be sent weekly reminders about testing requirements.
2. Exemptions: The following individuals are exempt from Campus COVID-19 testing:
   1. Individuals providing documentation to the campus of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic result taken off-campus within the 7-day period of the individual’s required testing date. Tests must be submitted to the “Submit an Off-Campus Test Result” form, located in the NCC Mobile App under the COVID-19 Reporting tile.
   2. Individuals providing documentation to the campus of a previous positive COVID-19 diagnostic result from the prior 3-month (90-day) period.
   3. Individuals who provide proof of full vaccination.
3. Individuals will need to bring their official NCC ID card and their personal electronic device to the collection station. A personal ID, such as a driver’s license or non-driver ID, will NOT be accepted.
   • If you arrive on campus without an ID, you can obtain one in the Student Services Center, open Monday – Thursday, 9:00am to 3:00pm.
4. You must not eat or drink anything, including chewing gum, mints, or lozenges, within 30 minutes of reporting for testing, and must not brush your teeth or use mouthwash within three (3) hours before testing.
5. In addition, you must abstain from smoking, vaping, or using smokeless tobacco products for 30 minutes prior to the test.

Instructions Upon Arrival to the Testing Site

• When STUDENTS first arrive, they will be required to SCAN the QR Code with the NCC Mobile app.
• When STAFF/FACULTY first arrive, they will be required to SCAN their ID at the scanning station.
• After scanning their ID, walk towards Station 1 using the designated floor markers to maintain social distance of six (6) feet from the person in front of you at all times.
• Please have your ID and account open on your phone before approaching the greeter at Station 1.
• Individuals should then open their account on their phone to type in barcode on the collection tube. The greeter will then verify with the individual that the barcode scanned matches the number on the collection tube.
• Individuals will then move to Station 2 for swabbing. Following the instructions of the attendant, the individual will collect saliva from his/her own mouth for 10-15 seconds. Please see instructional videos below.
• Individuals will then place their swab into the collection tube, close the cap securely, and shake the tube vigorously 15 times. They will then hand this tube to the attendant.

Testing Locations & Schedule

Testing will be conducted in the CCB - Glass Room/Atrium for both students and employees. Testing will be available Monday through Friday beginning September 1, 2022. Please note that testing will not be available on weekends.

Student Schedule:

• Students with a medical or religious exemptions, or those granted a medical accommodation should test once a week. 
• Students may test during any day of the week, Monday through Friday, when it is their week to test.

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Employee Schedule

• All unvaccinated or partially vaccinated employees must continue to test on a weekly basis. Employees should test on a day they are scheduled to be on campus.
• Employees may test any day of the week, Monday through Friday.

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Instructional Videos

Below are a few links to instructions for registering for the Surveillance Testing as well as to informational videos that outline some of the above-mentioned roles and proper swabbing technique for testing.

• Instructions to register for Surveillance Testing
• Swabbing Technique (students)
• Role of the Greeter and Attendants
• Role of the Pooler