Testing Overview

Self-Report a Positive Test Result

If you have tested positive for COVID-19 outside of the region, through a home antigen test, or any other non-Cornell or Cayuga Medical Center testing within the past 90 days, report your result in the Daily Check under the “Self-Reported Positive” heading. This information is critical for Cornell, as it may exempt you from testing.

For assistance with testing, visit the COVID-19 Support Center.

Supplemental Testing

Supplemental testing should not be used by anyone experiencing symptoms, or by unvaccinated individuals who are concerned they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. In these cases, students should seek testing from Cornell Health; faculty and staff should seek testing from a Cayuga Health System location or seek a rapid antigen test. Fully vaccinated, asymptomatic individuals who are concerned they may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 may use supplemental testing.

Supplemental testing requires scheduling an appointment in advance as walk-ins are not allowed. To make an appointment, log into the Daily Check portal and click on the “Schedule A Supplemental Test” button. Appointments become available at 4 p.m. for the following day.

All PCR testing sites operate under the same protocol for supervised self-collection of anterior nares (front of the nostril) samples. Anterior nares sampling is a simple, noninvasive nasal swab. Samples will be sent to the Cornell COVID-19 Testing Laboratory for processing. Watch this short video to familiar yourself with the sampling process beforehand.

Antigen test kits

For your convenience, COVID-19 antigen test kits are available to any asymptomatic student, staff or faculty member at any of Cornell’s test sites. Antigen-based testing, while somewhat less sensitive than PCR, has the advantage of speed – it shortens the time to detect and notify a positive from days to minutes.

Asymptomatic students who previously tested positive with COVID-19 and are currently in their 90-day recovery window, are eligible to pick up antigen kits. If the result is positive, you should report the result through the Daily Check.

Bulk requests for antigen test kits

Staff, faculty and student group organizers may request a bulk quantity of antigen kits by submitting a request to the COVID-19 Support Center, noting requestor name and NetID (this must be the same person who picks up the kits), group/activity name, date of event/activity, number of kits requested and a description of the attendees/audience. Note that antigen kits may not be requested for or distributed to guests or visitors.

Symptomatic Testing

Cornell provides Symptomatic Test Kits to students, faculty and staff who are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 and who have not tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 90 days. Individuals experiencing severe symptoms (i.e., difficulty breathing, high fever) should stay home and seek medical attention. Students should contact Cornell Health at 607-255-5155 for testing. Faculty and staff should contact their primary care provider.

Cornell’s Symptomatic Test Kits include two components: an antigen-based test, which provides rapid results within 15 minutes; and a saliva test, which will only be used in the event that a symptomatic person tests negative using the antigen test.

Rapid results from the antigen tests allow individuals to self-isolate within minutes of receiving a positive test result, thereby minimizing the risk of transmitting the virus to others. In general, individuals who test positive through an antigen test are almost certainly positive. However, due to a variety of factors, it is possible to have a false negative. Therefore, individuals with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 who have a negative antigen test are required to complete a secondary PCR saliva test to rule out possible COVID-19 infection.

How symptomatic individuals can access test kits

Symptomatic test kits are available to students, faculty and staff at any test site during regular hours or at the Tower Rd. traffic booth near Stocking Hall (drive-up only) or the Campus Rd. traffic booth near Carpenter Hall (walk-up only) between 10 and 12:00 noon on Sundays. You must show your Cornell ID in order to pick up a kit, which will contain both an antigen and saliva test along with detailed instructions for completion.