The University of Virginia’s plan for students, faculty, and staff to return to an in-person university life and learning environment with the highly transmissible Omicron variant present is not sufficient. UVA should reinstate mandatory weekly saliva testing for all students residing on and off Grounds.
 
Simply requiring boosters and masks indoors will not be enough to keep our community safe amidst the Omicron variant’s high transmissibility and increasing ability to cause breakthrough infections. It is outrageous that the University administration is complacent in “many members of our community"* contracting COVID-19 this semester. Due to their indifference, we are all at heightened risk. Immunocompromised students, faculty, and staff are particularly jeopardized.
 
UVA has been successful in testing the entire student population before. All students, both on and off Grounds, were required to get tested during the Spring 2021 semester. Students seldom shared grievances about this obligation because testing was centrally located and a wide selection of appointment times were available, allowing students to fit testing in-between classes. 
 
Mandatory testing will detect cases sooner, enabling students to self-isolate before infecting others and perpetuating the spread of the virus. If action is not taken, then the UVA and Charlottesville communities will succumb to a spike in cases following the start of the semester. Preventable infections, learning loss, and a strain on Charlottesville’s healthcare system will follow. By making testing mandatory, UVA will create a safer in-person experience for everyone. 
 
If not, at the very least, UVA should expand voluntary asymptomatic testing to outdoor locations with appointments available throughout the day, five days a week. Last semester, testing was available Monday through Thursday at Scott Stadium and at Emmett Ivy Garage on Fridays. Currently, testing has been reduced to Monday through Thursday in an indoor, lower-level Newcomb Hall room. This location is unsafe due to limited air circulation and space for physical distancing. 
 
Implementing mandatory weekly testing is critical in keeping our community safe. UVA, we are counting on you to take action.
 
*per 1/14/22 email from Liz Magill and J. J. Davis