10/7/20 Photo by Saige Corl
Communication instructor Gary Baranec (left) was among the early faculty selected for surveillance testing receiving his testing kit from Jon Carry on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the Adler Athletic Complex. 

Editor’s Note: Collegiate Review Staff Writer Samira Kante recently went through the process of an on-campus COVID-19 test.

She decided to share her experience with CR readers so others will know what to expect.

A few students at Penn State Altoona were randomly selected to get tested for COVID -19 and since a lot of students had tested positive, all the students in Oak Hall were selected to get tested as well.

Everyone in my building was told to get tested right away by email and fliers. We were given three days to get tested. As soon as I got the email, I made plans to go the next day to get tested.

In the email, we were told to register with My-Quest website before going to the Health and Wellness Center for the test. The registration process was quick  and simple. I had to answer a few questions and create an account on My-Quest.

Once I was done with making my account, I made my way the health center. When I arrived, there was a white tent outside the health center with a woman sitting down and two students standing with Q-tip cotton swabs up their noses.

The woman attendant that told me to write my name down and which building I’m from. After that it was my turn. I was told to get one of the Q-tip cotton swabs. I placed the cotton swab in both of my nostrils for 15 seconds. After that, I placed them in a plastic container with my name on it which goes into a bin.

The attendant then informed me that it would take 48 hours for the results to come back. The results are emailed and if you test positive for COVID-19, then the university officials will call you and inform you what to do next.

I wasn’t nervous about the test and it didn’t hurt. The entire testing process took about 10 minutes from arrival to finish.

Getting the results did take longer than 48 hours. Mine did not reach me until about five days later. I was notified by by email to check the My-Quest account, which had my results.