After reporting yet another cluster of COVID-19 cases, Penn State is asking all Snyder Hall residents to get tested for the virus this week.

Students living in the dorm are encouraged to utilize walk-up testing at nearby Pegula Ice Arena on Friday, March 26, or Saturday, March 27. Both Pegula and Hintz Family Alumni Center are open for testing from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Those who are experiencing symptoms should skip walk-up testing and schedule an appointment with University Health Services.

Penn State’s walk-up testing uses a rapid test process, followed by a secondary PCR test if initial results come back positive.

Additionally, Penn State said it will provide “support” to students who need to isolate. It’ll also implement its contact tracing process to find potentially affected individuals.

In a release, Penn State said it contacts building or complex residents to encourage testing when that specific population’s positivity rate cracks 2%.

Snyder is now the seventh hall in East to report a case cluster and ask its residents to get tested for COVID-19. East’s Hastings, Stone, Earle, Martin, Geary, and Packer halls, as well as Pollock’s Beaver Hall, issued similar advisories to residents.

At this time, it’s unclear how many Snyder residents tested positive for the virus. From March 12 and 19, Penn State reported 254 new COVID-19 cases among University Park students and employees — easily its largest single-week spike since mid-November.

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