Friday, May 16

UCLA finds trace amounts of COVID-19 in wastewater of residential halls


(Christine Kao/Daily Bruin staff)

Traces of COVID-19 were detected in wastewater in on-campus housing Thursday. (Christine Kao/Daily Bruin staff)


Trace amounts of COVID-19 were found in on-campus housing wastewater Thursday. 

The UCLA Office of Environment, Health & Safety found the COVID-19 traces as a part of their residential building wastewater testing program. 

The university emailed students living in on-campus housing to notify them of the trace amounts of the virus found Thursday, said UCLA spokesperson Katherine Alvarado. Students were advised to take a COVID-19 test by 11 a.m. Friday and students who were not on campus or those unable to complete a COVID-19 test by that time are recommended to get tested when they return, Alvarado added.

[Related link: UCLA employs wastewater testing to bolster COVID-19 detection efforts on the Hill]

The UCLA Exposure Management Team will contact any student who tests positive for COVID-19. The team will also provide students who test positive for COVID-19 with additional information on next steps, Alvarado said.

Wastewater testing can detect potential COVID-19 cases days before individuals become symptomatic. 

The university currently does not anticipate any changes to the campus’s health and safety protocols. 

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Alumnus

Kovach was the 2021-2022 assistant News editor for the campus politics beat. She was previously a contributor for The Stack. Kovach was a fourth-year global studies student at UCLA.


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