ABERDEEN, S.D. (American News Staff Reports) – Mass COVID-19 testing has been scheduled for Wednesday on the campus of Northern State University.

The event is for Northern students, faculty and staff, and as many as 500 tests will be conducted, according to information from the university.

Free, voluntary walk-up testing will be offered from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. between the Avera Student Center and Beulah Williams Library on the west side of campus. No appointments are needed. Those who want to be tested should take a Northern student, faculty or staff ID or an employee health insurance card.

The event was made possible through the South Dakota Department of Health and Avera Health, Northern President Tim Downs said in an announcement.

Results are expected between 72 and 120 hours after testing.

“The goal of this voluntary event is to help identify individuals with COVID-19 who don’t know it and could be unknowingly spreading the virus throughout the community. We fully expect to become aware of more COVID-19 cases as a result of this testing event,” Downs said in the announcement.

Symptomatic students can already be tested on campus at Student Health Service in room 240 of the student center. Call 605-626-7694 for an appointment.

There were eight active COVID-19 cases at Northern as of Sunday, according to numbers from the school. Six were students and two were faculty or staff. Those numbers are trending down.

Thirty-eight people were isolating or quarantining off campus, with another 12 doing so on campus.

(visit www.aberdeennews.com)