Texas A&M University has announced it will offer free COVID-19 testing for all students, faculty and staff at its 11 campuses.
Each campus will have a central testing location in which people will use a mouth swab to test for the novel coronavirus, university officials said in a news release.
People will be required to register online before going to the testing site. Once they arrive, trained personnel will monitor individuals as they perform a self-administered test.
People are encouraged to get tested if they experience symptoms related to coronavirus, or if they suspect they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
University officials say although the tests are free, people with insurance are encouraged to use their primary care physician to access the test so that their test can be paid for by insurance.
"Facilitating increased accessibility and availability of COVID-19 testing will help us mitigate the spread and help to protect each other by taking preventative and proactive measures," said John Sharp, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.
About 15,000 test kits will be sent to each campus every month, according to university officials. Testing could start as early as late this week, though the tests will not be available to the general public.
Texas A&M is partnering with Curative Inc., a national testing company based in California. According to a news release, Curative provides results within 30 hours from when a sample arrives at their lab.
Additional updates regarding COVID-19 will be posted on the university's website, officials said.
