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COVID-19 testing support given to the UW-System

More than $24 million in financial assistance, will be available to the University of Wisconsin (UW) System, as it prepares to welcome students back to campus this fall. The $32 million comes in addition to the $18.9 million Gov. Tony Evers allocated from Wisconsin’s portion of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to UW-System campuses, and the $95.6 million UW-System institutions received directly through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund under the CARES Act.

“As campuses across the UW-System prepare to have students return to campus, it is critically important that every campus has the resources it needs to help keep our students safe,” said Evers. “The COVID-19 pandemic brings great uncertainty and having robust testing efforts is one of the most important tools we have to help box in this virus, and make sure our students stay healthy and safe.”

The funding will be toward a COVID-19 plan, helping campuses to test symptomatic students, those who have had close contact with symptomatic students and students living in residence halls. Under UW-System’s plan, state funding will help purchase 276,000 tests, 246,000 of which will be allocated to campuses, and 30,000 of which will be held in reserve by UWSystem for peaks or shortfalls.

The funding will also help cover personal protective equipment and staff for administering tests.

“Gov. Evers’ commitment to providing the resources for strong testing measures throughout the UW-System, will help us safely reopen our campuses this fall for students, faculty, staff and our university communities,” said interim UW-System president Tommy Thompson.

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