The UPC sets up a COVID-19 testing site on the North Campus in collaboration with the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital
From 16 November until 11 December, the Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Hospital will offer the UPC university community voluntary rapid COVID-19 tests in order to monitor infections. Free PCR saliva tests will be done on the North Campus without prior appointment, in a pilot action of which the health authorities have been informed.
Nov 13, 2020
Tests will be conducted from Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the North Campus multipurpose room, in Barcelona, in front of reception (Building A3). Students, teaching staff and administrative staff of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) can get a free test without an appointment.
Information, test kits and instructions (in Catalan) to support self-collection of saliva samples will be available at the testing site on the North Campus. Those wishing to take the test need to provide their personal details and health card number. Samples must be delivered to the collection point in the multipurpose hall. The day’s samples will be taken to the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital for analysis,the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital for analysis, and the results will be reported to the Ministry of Health of the Government of Catalonia.
Results will be available in the personal digital space La Meva Salut within 48 hours. Staff who test positive will be contacted by telephone by their healthcare centre.
By organising of these voluntary tests in collaboration with the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, the UPC aims to provide the university community with a measure
for the prevention and rapid detection of the disease. The University is working to offer testing to other UPC campuses in collaboration with local health institutions. The cost of the tests done at the UPC will be covered by the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital.
Facilities for contact tracing
This November, two rooms at the Vallès School of Architecture (ETSAV) have been prepared for Catalan Health Service professionals to conduct contact tracing of possible virus infections among citizens by means of telephone interviews. The aim of this tracing, which will be carried out from Monday to Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., is to support the work of epidemiological surveillance services and the Les Mates healthcare centre, which is located near the School.
These actions are part of the Ministry of Health’s strategy to speed up the identification of positive cases and contain the COVID-19 pandemic. They are also part of the range of measures that are being implemented by the University to fight the pandemic within the campaign ‘The UPC, protected’.
