UC San Diego Introduces Virus Testing as Part of Reopening Plan

The University of California, San Diego announced this week that it has introduced a Chinese virus testing program that will expedite its plans to reopen campus. The program aims to mitigate the spread of the virus by regularly testing students and faculty.

According to a press release by the University of California, UC San Diego is one of the first universities in the country to introduce Chinese virus testing as part of an effort to reopen campus. The university announced that its “Return to Learn” plan will likely kick off its initial phase this month.

Although administrators believe the transition to distance learning has been relatively seamless, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla claims that the university is committed to reopening campus so that students can reap the benefits of an on-campus learning experience.

“We are here to teach, conduct leading-edge research, and provide service to our communities,” Khosla said. “We were able to implement remote education quickly and efficiently so that the vast majority of students could continue their studies while they took shelter during the initial phase of the pandemic, but we are also committed to continuing to offer our students, faculty, and staff the experience of being together on a college campus.

According to Khosla, the “Return to Learn” program will utilize the expertise of both scientists and computer engineers who will map the virus’s location on campus. Moreover, the university will offer “isolation housing” to students that test positive for the virus.

“To do that, we are launching the ‘UC San Diego Return to Learn Program.’ This effort will leverage the ingenuity and expertise of our clinicians, molecular biologists, epidemiologists, bioinformaticians, and others to work toward a tailored map of where the virus is, and where it isn’t,” Khosla added. “We expect these efforts to help put us in the best possible position to minimize virus outbreaks and implement new interventions as needed, should we resume in-person activities this fall.”

UC San Diego will also use “exposure notifications” to let students know when they have been near someone that has tested positive for the virus. Breitbart News has reported extensively on a “contract tracing” system designed by Apple and Google that promises to prevent the spread of the virus through BlueTooth technology.

Stay tuned to Breitbart News for more campus updates.