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SALISBURY, MD---As ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ prepares to welcome students to campus next week, members of the SU community are taking advantage of free COVID-19 testing offered by the University.

As of Friday, SU had tested more than 1,000 faculty and staff, as well as students already living in the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ area. Only four — just .4 percent of those tested — showed positive results for COVID-19.

“Our faculty and staff have worked tremendously hard to create a safe atmosphere for students to return to campus this fall,” said SU President Charles Wight. “We are pleased to find such a low rate of COVID-19 among those who have been tested so far and we’re optimistic that trend will continue.”

The University System of Maryland has required all students, faculty and staff to provide negative COVID-19 test results prior to moving into campus housing or entering campus buildings. To better accommodate physical distancing policies, SU has expanded its normal one-day move-in to a full week, beginning Monday, August 24. Classes start Monday, August 31.

The free testing offered by SU for students and employees this month is expected to provide a baseline for the University. Free testing for SU community members will take place throughout the semester, with the capacity for 1,000 tests — or approximately 15 percent of the campus — each week.

These weekly tests will provide SU and local health officials with an idea regarding COVID-19 trends on campus. Throughout the semester, any SU community member testing positive for COVID-19 will be asked to return home for at least two weeks. Dogwood Village, a one-story student housing complex on the edge of campus, has been reserved as isolation space for students unable to leave due to special circumstances.

SU’s COVID-19 numbers will be shared publicly via an online dashboard being developed by the SU-affiliated Eastern Shore Regional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Cooperative and through weekly live online briefings hosted by Wight.

The first is scheduled 12:30 p.m. Thursday, August 20. For this special initial briefing, Wight will be joined by Peninsula Regional Health System President and CEO Steve Leonard.

Briefings will be streamed live on SU’s COVID-19 webpage and . They also will be recorded and available for later viewing on SU’s COVID-19 webpage.

While the University is welcoming students to campus this semester, their experience will be different than in previous years. In-person, hybrid, remote and online classes; virtual student events; a limit on group activities; and changes to dining and housing policies, combined with new safety procedures requiring face masks, physical distancing, visible SU IDs and daily COVID-19 self-screenings are expected to provide a unique educational and social experience while keeping students, faculty and staff safe on campus.

“We want to give our students as much of the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ experience as possible,” said Wight. “However, the health of the SU community is, and always will be, our top priority.”

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU website.