Madison College students and faculty have exclusive and free access to COVID-19 testing at Truax. Currently testing is only open to members of the college community who are asymptomatic. Those experiencing symptoms are encouraged to remain off campus says Joshua Cotillier, Risk Manager and Director of COVID-19 Operations at Madison College.  

“If you’re not feeling well, please stay home so you don’t potentially infect someone else,” Cotillier said.  

Faculty and students interested in receiving a COVID-19 test are encouraged to sign up online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/covid-test-acknowledgements 

College community members should be prepared to show their OneCard and expect a first-time test to take between 15 – 30 minutes. Testing takes place in room 131 of the Health Education building. Community members will be asked to download the Navica app to their smartphones. This app is available in both the Apple App Store and Google Play. This app will be used to send test results confidentially.  

The test itself is administered by a staff member who is a nurse by trade. The rest of the testing staff are trained in accuracy, safety, and confidentiality.  

A swab will be placed in both nostrils. Cotillier explains this is because of the nature of COVID-19, “You may have a higher viral load in one side versus the other. Just to make sure there’s symmetry and to be certain, we’re doing what can.” 

There have been a few complaints of complications from the test itself. 

“With it being winter and the air is dry there is the possibility of a mild nosebleed but that happens very infrequently,” says Cotillier.  

Results will be delivered in about 15 minutes via the Navica app. For those who don’t use a smartphone, test results will be delivered via email or a phone call.  

This type of test is the rapid antigen test. It allows for results to be conducted right on site as opposed to the PCR test which is sent to an external laboratory and results can take up to 72 hours. The downside to the rapid antigen test is it may result in a false negative.  

“The challenge is when the test says you’re negative. Not enough time may have passed for the viral load to build up for the swabbing process to detect the virus,” said Cotillier.   

If someone suspects they’ve had close contact with COVID-19 and are asymptomatic, they may need to get tested twice.  

The main users of the testing clinic are student athletes and students enrolled in other programs that may require them to present test results for external reasons. There is no rule currently in place that all Madison College students must be tested.  

However, Cotillier notes, “Many of our students live together, work together, and we want to make sure they’re safe when they come to campus.”  

Madison College acquired 10,000 tests which Cotillier feels will be enough tests to last until summer.  

The tests were paid for by a federal grant.  

“We want to keep the college community safe. It’s always been the top value and priority we’ve had during this pandemic,” said Cotillier.