To: The Wellesley College Community
From: Piper Orton, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer; and Karen Petrulakis, General Counsel and Chair of the COVID Health and Safety Committee
Re: Closure of the COVID-19 Asymptomatic Testing Center
Date: March 23, 2023
With data continuing to show reported COVID-19 cases decreasing on campus, the College has made the decision to close our asymptomatic testing program. The program’s services will end at 4 p.m. on April 15, 2023. This timing ensures that students who wish to be tested upon returning from spring break can do so.
Students will continue to be able to access symptomatic COVID-19 testing at Health Services five days per week, and rapid tests will be available for sale in the campus bookstore.
Our decision comes as COVID-19 testing numbers and reported positive cases have both declined significantly.
The closing of our asymptomatic testing program on campus also comes as the Broad Institute has announced it is winding down its COVID-19 testing operation. We could not have offered this service to our community over the past three years without the Broad Institute’s commitment to establishing and supporting a high-quality, high-volume, and dependable COVID-19 laboratory.
We want to thank our outstanding COVID-19 testing team and our COVID-19 coordinator. The team responded to the changing needs of the College community as we adapted to the risks and impact of COVID-19 on students, on faculty and staff and their families, and on our residential college community. Please join us in thanking them over the next several weeks.
