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COVID-19 testing for students and employees

What to do when you get your test results

Waiting for your results and next steps (click to download)

If you are a close contact of a positive case

If you have been a close contact of a confirmed positive case of COVID-19 and need to quarantine, you will receive a quarantine letter notification via secure message in your MyUHS account. All students, faculty, and staff have MyUHS accounts and can log in with their NetID. You will receive an email from UHS alerting you to MyUHS secure message that contains the quarantine letter notification.

If you test negative

If you do not have symptoms and you test negative, this means you are not likely infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 at this time. However, it can take up to 14 days between the time you are exposed to the virus and when a test shows you are positive. You should continue to practice good hygiene, which includes frequently washing your hands, wearing a face covering when in public and indoors, and maintaining at least six feet of distance from people you do not live with.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, even if you receive a negative COVID-19 test result, you should still take precautions to limit contact with others. Avoid outings, going to work, and in-person classes.

If a contact tracer from University Health Services, Public Health Madison & Dane County, or another public health agency has told you that you have had high-risk exposure to someone infected with COVID-19, you should follow the instructions they provide. They may ask you to go to quarantine because you may still develop symptoms within 14 days of your exposure to a positive person.

If you test positive

Anyone who tests positive should isolate themselves immediately. A contact tracer will call you from a (608) area code phone number within a few days to help identify anyone else who may have come into close contact with you while you were positive for COVID-19. UHS will work to notify Divisional Disability Representatives, University Housing, instructors and others involved in campus health and safety whenever a positive case is identified on campus, sharing information only as necessary to keep campus safe while respecting individuals’ privacy.

Employees: Positive test reporting protocol
Students: Positive test reporting protocol

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Employees

Reporting a positive result (updated August 31, 2020)
UW-Madison has updated the reporting process for employees who get tested for COVID-19 at an off-campus location. Previously, this process applied only to those who tested outside of Dane County, but in an effort to ensure that UHS is aware of testing volume, this has been updated to include all off-campus tests. As originally stated in early August, a web form to report results would be made available to better streamline the reporting process for employees and the UHS team. Employees who receive a test from public health agencies or health care providers from an off-campus location should report their test results via the Messages menu item on MyUHS. The message center now includes an option to select “COVID-19 Outside Result Reporting.” This new process is the preferred reporting method, although employees may still email results to covidresults@wisc.edu or call 608-890-0000.

You must isolate yourself as best as possible from others, including those you live with, to protect the health of others while you recover.

Do not go to work. If you are at work when you receive your positive COVID-19 test result, go home or seek a safe and isolated place to stay. If you are home or in a safe and isolated place, stay there. Do not go into the workplace or attend other activities in person.

Tell your supervisor or Divisional Disability Representative that you will not be able to work on site. They will help you explore remote work options if you feel well enough to work, or they will inform you of your leave options if you are too sick to work. See more leave options at hr.wisc.edu/covid19/emergency-leave.

For more information on protocols for employees who test positive, visit hr.wisc.edu/covid19/.

Positive test reporting protocol for employees

Students living in University Housing

You must isolate yourself as best as possible from others, including those you live with, to protect the health of others while you recover.

UHS will notify University Housing of your positive COVID-19 test result. You will work with Isolation/Quarantine Housing, who will provide you with a safe and comfortable isolation space and help support you while you recover. You may call the number in your test result message to connect with a staff member. Some students may also choose to return home for the duration of their isolation.

You will need to be in isolation for at least 10 days, and until you are fever-free for at least 24 hours and your symptoms are improving. UHS will work with you to determine when your isolation period ends.

Notify your instructors that you will be unable to attend in-person classes for at least 10 days while you are in isolation. Your instructor will work with you to provide alternative ways to complete your work.

If you work, notify your supervisors that you will be unable to work on site for at least 10 days while you are in isolation.

Mental Health Services will be reaching out to each student during this period of time to support you. If you need more urgent assistance for mental health concerns, please call the UHS 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Line at 608-265-5600 (option 9). If you would like to schedule a routine phone screening to make an appointment at UHS Mental Health Services, call 608-265-5600 (option 2) or log on to MyUHS to make an appointment online.

More information can be found on COVID-19 Quarantine and Isolation page for UW Housing at covid19.housing.wisc.edu. 

You can also find more on the Smart Restart website “Students” section and in the Smart Restart Health & Safety Brochure.

Students living off campus

You must isolate yourself as best as possible from others, including those you live with, to protect the health of others while you recover. Find more information on how to isolate on Public Health Madison and Dane County’s website. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide recommendations for quarantining and isolating when you live with other people.

Do not attend classes, work, or other activities in person. You may leave isolation 10 days after your symptoms started if you have been fever-free for at least 24 hours and your symptoms are improving. If you never develop symptoms, you can leave isolation 10 days after your positive test. UHS will work with you to determine when your isolation period ends.

Notify your instructors that you will be unable to attend in-person classes for at least 10 days while you are in isolation. Your instructor will work with you to provide alternative ways to complete your work.

If you work, notify your supervisors that you will be unable to work on site for at least 10 days while you are in isolation.

You can also find more on the Smart Restart website “Students” section and in the Smart Restart Health & Safety Brochure.

If you were tested for COVID-19 off campus

We are updating the process for reporting positive tests performed outside of campus. Check back for additional informtion.