Continue to test twice a week
All students who are currently living in Oxford are strongly encouraged to continue to test twice a week in order to identify COVID-19 cases where people aren’t showing symptoms. This includes those of us who have been vaccinated. Omicron is more contagious than previous variants and can still pose a serious health risk for certain people so please test regularly to minimise the risk to our community and to prevent disruption to academic studies.
Staff and students who have had COVID-19 less than 90 days ago are still able to become re-infected and, therefore, should take an LFD test if they experience symptoms.
Obtaining LFD test kits
Students and staff can pick up LFD test kits from one of the University's LFD Collect distribution points. These include colleges (for members of that college). The closest collection point to the department is Radcliffe Humanities right next door to the Andrew Wiles Building. LFD tests are free and no pre-booking is required to collect a kit. All you need is your University card or your Single Sign-On details. If it is impractical for you to use the University/College LFD collection points then there is also a government route available for home delivery or pharmacy collection of LFDs.
When to test
Wherever possible you should test on the same days each week, e.g. Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday and also before attending situations where you may have contact with larger numbers of people you don’t usually see.
Reporting LFD test results
Please report all your LFD results (negative, positive or void) regardless of whether or not you obtained the LFD tests via LFD Collect, to both the University’s Early Alert Service and the NHS. The University relies on the reporting of positive results to ensure effective infection control and the reporting of negative results to demonstrate to the government (who provide our tests) that they are being used.
The quickest and simplest way to report your LFD result is via your quick reporting link. If you obtained a box of LFDs from the University you would have received a quick reporting link via SMS and email. If you have received LFDs from the NHS or any other source rather than the University you can set up a link by going to the “Get Quicklink” button on the view my details page on the EAS service to make reporting much easier from mobile devices.
Positive LFD result
If you have a positive LFD test result (whether you’re symptomatic or not) it should be treated as confirmation of infection. You should self-isolate immediately and follow the University’s testing guidance including contacting your college and departmental COVID-19 contact. More information about testing and what to do if you have a positive LFD result can be found on the University’s coronavirus webpages.