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Keeping
SEASIDERS SAFE As BYUH prepares for return to in-person classes, Seasider Testing staff say weekly tests will help us get there BY ALEXANDRA CLENDENNING
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uring the Winter 2021 Semester, BYU–Hawaii has continued salivabased COVID-19 testing, known as Seasider Testing. Since testing began in December, Nomi Health’s marketing lead said they have issued around 20,000 tests and have recorded 36 positive cases. Manda Nielson, a senior from Utah studying exercise and sport science and Nomi Health’s marketing lead, said, “Currently, there’s only two active cases that have been recorded,” On March 17, President John S.K. Kauwe III announced BYUH would return to in-person classes for the Fall 2021 Semester. He said, “We chose to create a testing program here at BYU–Hawaii to find a way to balance bringing back our students and the campus back to normal life, while maintaining the safety that is necessary for our students, employees and surrounding community.”
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BYUH’s Assistant to the President Laura Tevaga said there are about 1,000 students living on campus and 500 students living off campus. This means only 50 percent of students are back on campus in comparison to the 2,962 students currently enrolled in classes. This means testing is crucial to keep people safe and in order to welcome more students back to campus, she added. With BYUH planning for in-person classes in the fall of 2021, Nielson said Seasider Safe testing will continue through the Spring 2021 Semester to ensure everyone’s safety and wellbeing. As Hawaii enters tier three of the COVID-19 Reopening Strategy, she said students, faculty and staff should expect to see more things open up on campus and eventually get back to normal life. Nielson said continuing to get tested weekly and following all precautions will allow for more openings on campus.
According to Ailana Meyer, the field operations director for Nomi Health, Seasider Safe has one of the most impactful roles in stopping the spread of COVID-19 because it tests people who are asymptomatic. She explained the BYUH Health Center takes care of the outwardly sick patients. Meyer shared, “Our testing program is to capture the asymptomatic people so we can stop this spread right away. We can find out where the close contacts are and impose a quarantine on them.” She said Seasider Safe is here to keep the BYUH ohana safe and to give everyone an enjoyable, personable experience. “The biggest focus on our students and medic staff side is just having a continuous improvement mindset. Since it’s a mandatory testing program, patient experience is our priority.” •
