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USC SAFE saliva-based COVID-19 testing resumes

SAFE testing resumed Tuesday for the first 200 students.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina is resumed SAFE saliva-based COVID-19  for students on Tuesday. 

The SAFE (Saliva Assay Free Expedited) test is an alternative to nasal swab tests and enables rapid test processing, typically delivering results within 24 hours.  

The testing was postponed temporarily because of staffing shortages in the lab, according to Jeff Stensland, Director of UofSC Public Relations. 

According to the university, SAFE testing resumed at 10 a.m. on Tuesday for the first 200 students. They are in the process of 'rebuilding capacity' to do more testing after postponing it last week. 

RELATED: USC positive COVID cases jumps to 1,443

RELATED: USC saliva COVID testing postponed due to staffing shortages

Students who are experiencing symptoms should make an appointment with Student Health Services to obtain a test through the MyHealthSpace portal. Additional community testing locations are available throughout the Midlands.

Faculty and staff nasal swab testing was available Tuesday from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. at 650 Lincoln.

The university has also added tips for faulty and staff who may have questions about dealing with student cases in the classroom. These tips can be found on the Faculty and Staff Information page.

To view the virtual town hall from Wednesday, September 2, click here. For live captioning instructions, visit Microsoft Support online. See past town halls in Messages to Our Campus Community.

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Testing was postponed in the same week that Greek life events were canceled in-person and moved to virtual events. Almost a dozen Greek houses were placed in quarantine because of students testing positive for COVID-19.   

RELATED: Nearly half of USC Greek houses in quarantine, rush in-person events canceled

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