As coronavirus case totals rise, the County of San Diego is expanding its testing efforts at San Diego State University, which has seen more than 600 coronavirus cases in its student population since it partially reopened last month.
A testing site at the SDSU Alumni Center, located at 5250 55th St., will be able to offer 1,000 tests a day. No appointments are necessary, and the site is open to the public.
The outbreak at SDSU has caused frustration among the student body.
“It kind of sucks right now because most of my classes are hands-on with child development, like going to pre-school, so obviously I can’t do that," said Malia Kaleiohi, an SDSU student.
Despite the frustrations, Kaleiohi understands the health concerns and took advantage of the free testing at SDSU.
“It was really easy for me and my friend. During the week it’s really busy because everyone is trying to get in, but there’s no line right now so it was a really quick process,” said Kaleiohi.
Some students are disappointed they aren’t getting the full college experience because of the pandemic, but they appreciate the steps SDSU is taking to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
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“I think they’ve been doing a good job of setting up the stations, as far as testing,” said Adam Seiko, another SDSU student.
The expanded testing site is meant to slow the spread of the virus on-and-off campus.
“There are a lot of students that live near my neighborhood so I just wanted to make sure I didn’t come across someone who was affected by the outbreak here at San Diego State,” said Ali Abdwali, a non-student who lives near campus.
The outbreak also puts new focus on other local universities like the University of California San Diego, which is in the process of moving in 7,500 students onto campus. The university said it will prevent outbreaks with routine testing and regular checks of wastewater to detect traces of Covid-19.
On Saturday, hours for SDSU's new testing site will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The testing site will be open the same hours from Monday, Sept. 21 to Friday, Sept. 25.
