Groningen students tested for Covid before exam in new experiment

An experiment with rapid tests is kicking off in Groningen today, in which students will be tested for the coronavirus before exams. They'll get the results of the rapid test within three hours. If they test negative, they can write the exam on campus. If not, they'll have to write the exam later or online where possible.

The University of Groningen and the Hanze University of Applied sciences are participating in the experiment, done by the University Medical Center Groningen and the local GGD. Similar experiments are being prepared in Amsterdam and Delft.

National student union LSVb is hopeful that this will be the first step towards returning to physical lessons in higher education. "If the experiments are a success, then we want rapid tests to really be deployed across the country to enable more physical education in a safe way," LSVb chairman Lyle Muns said.

According to him, the lack of on-site education is causing students to lose motivation for their studies and it is "important to quickly restore perspective", both for the quality of education and the well-being of students. 

The union realizes that a full return to normal will require more than rapid tests, but believes that these tests can be part of the solution. Especially while the Netherlands is waiting to achieve herd immunity through vaccination.