Testing

Any member of our community exhibiting signs of COVID-19 must seek immediate medical attention. If feeling ill, students should contact MSU's COVID-19 hotline at 855-958-2678 or contact their health care provider. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care physician. If you are ill, you should self-isolate and avoid close contact with others. More information on what to do if you feel sick can be found on the CDC website. 

We know there are basic ways to reduce the transmission of the virus, including mask-wearing, physical distancing and good hygiene, such as frequent handwashing. We continue to work on a testing approach that will allow us to rapidly help individuals who have symptoms and work effectively with our local and state public health agencies to identify and test those who may have been exposed. 

While details continue to evolve on testing, we can share the following plans:

• Any students, faculty or staff presenting symptoms or identified through contact tracing will be tested.
• Those who are asymptomatic but have concerns about exposure to COVID-19 will have access to testing.
• Anyone testing positive will be required to self-isolate per CDC guidelines. For students who live on campus, space for isolation will be provided.
• We are also working on broader procedures to help identify populations that need additional testing. We have developed a technique at MSU that involves the ongoing collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data (referred to by the CDC as “surveillance”) that enables us to identify the presence of the virus. The technique involves collecting salvia samples and determining if COVID-19 is present. If the virus is detected, individuals within the sample group would have the option to receive a formal diagnostic test as a follow-up.

To get tested in Michigan, call the COVID Hotline at 888-535-6136 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and press 1 to be connected to an operator who can help you find a nearby location and schedule an appointment; or, visit Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest to find testing locations near you and schedule an appointment. There are many locations where you can get tested at no cost to you.

Contact tracing

MSU will continue to work with local health departments on contact tracing for any potential cases, and we plan to hire additional staff to help with tracing related specifically to campus. If you are believed to be a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, the county health department will follow up with you directly. 

Definition of close contact: Sustained time — more than 15 minutes — within six feet of a confirmed COVID-19 case.