UNC Asheville follows all recommendations published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for the management and treatment of COVID. On March 1, 2024 the CDC removed the specific isolation requirements for patients diagnosed with COVID and published guidance for all respiratory viruses . The CDC guidance can be found here.
https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/guidance/respiratory-virus-guidance.html
COVID Testing
Health & Counseling offers COVID testing to UNC Asheville students who are experiencing COVID symptoms. Testing should happen as soon as symptoms arise. Students can set up an appointment for testing by calling the Health & Counseling Center at (828) 251-6520. There are 2 types of testing which are available for a cost.
- Self-test with a rapid antigen test: Antigen tests are rapid tests that produce results in 10 – 15 minutes. Positive results are very accurate and reliable.
- Medical evaluation and PCR testing is offered. Time to receive PCR lab results can vary. While awaiting results, you should limit your activities and follow the recommendations of your provider
If you have tested positive for COVID and recovered, further COVID tests may still show a positive. Testing within 90 days after a positive test is not recommended as patients who have recovered from COVID can continue to have detectable SARS-CoV-2 RNA for up to 3 months after illness onset. However, they are not likely infectious. Within this 90-day period and beyond, if you develop symptoms again, you should contact your medical provider.
Communicating with Professors
Students who test positive for COVID should proactively communicate with professors that they will be unable to attend class until symptoms have subsided and the absence of a fever for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications. Students who experience difficulties with this process may contact the Health & Counseling Center (828) 251-6520, Jay Cutspec, Director of Health & Counseling (jcutspec@unca.edu) or Megan Pugh, Dean of Students (mpugh1@unca.edu) for assistance.