Grant Rohan
NEWS EDITOR
Starting Monday, April 6, Nebraska Medicine will collect samples from a drive-thru swab site on the UNO Dodge campus to test for COVID-19.
The site is only open to those who have been given a testing lab order from a Nebraska Medicine provider.
The site will be located at two spots on the campus, one in Lot M directly west of the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center and the other in Lot N in the garage of the Health and Kinesiology (H&K) building. The site as a whole will operate daily from 8 a.m. to noon.
Patients participating in the drive-through swab will be instructed to immediately return home following the sampling to self-isolate.
The idea behind the clinic is to perform testing away from patients and staff who are at risk for contracting the virus at UNMC and other Nebraska Medicine health centers in the metro. This allows for a safe, fast way to collect testing samples away from patient care areas.
“It’s primarily for Nebraska Medicine employees and is not yet open to the general public,” said Cathy Pettid, UNO assistant vice chancellor for student success and dean of students.
As of Thursday, April 2, Nebraska has a total of 255 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Hosting a swab site on the Dodge campus does not put the UNO community at risk for exposure. UNO will implement these safety measures while the collection site is open:
● Lots M and N are now closed to students, faculty and staff.
● Patients may enter through a single entrance: 67th Street off Dodge Street. Signs will be placed throughout campus on the route to the clinic sites.
● Patients are instructed to proceed directly to the clinic and must remain in their vehicles with their windows rolled up at all times.
● UNO Public Safety Officers will help direct patients and ensure they stay in their vehicles.
● The H&K Garage will be disinfected each day after clinic use.
Increased traffic on campus is expected Friday, April 3 as UNO and Nebraska Medicine staff begin training for the collection site.
“It’s hard to anticipate where the virus will go, but at the moment it’s only for those Nebraska Medicine employees and staff,” Pettid said.
