Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - As students begin to return to the University at Buffalo campuses, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras announced the establishment of a COVID testing lab to be located on the UB south campus. Malatras was on the UB north campus Sunday and said the site, that will supplement the one at SUNY Upstate Medical, will be operational March 1st.
"By creating a satellite lab….at the University at Buffalo, we will be able to increase capacity by 75 percent," said Malatras. Testing capacity will increase from about 200,000 per week to 350,000 per week.
SUNY is investing $120,000 in the expansion by purchasing the equipment to process Upstate Medical's COVID-19 test at the new lab. Additional funding will be provided by joint partner Quadrant Biosciences, a New York based molecular diagnostics company. The UB laboratory will be staffed by Quadrant Biosciences in partnership with SUNY faculty and student medical researcher teams, as the site handles weekly saliva testing for all SUNY campuses in Western New York. About twenty staff members will work at the new UB lab according to Malatras.
All students returning to campus are required to test negative for COVID-19 immediately prior to or upon return to campus, and students, faculty, and staff will be tested weekly throughout the semester primarily using Upstate's saliva test to identify any new cases. Students testing positive may quarantine on campus housing or at their residence for the semester if living off-campus.
Malatras pointed to the success of the SUNY testing program, citing UB as an example. "The positivity rate at the University at Buffalo's campus right now is .43 percent. Erie County is 5%."
Chancellor Malatras made the announcement today from University at Buffalo, as he met with President Satish Tripathi and Upstate Medical University President Mantosh Dewan. Chancellor Malatras also visited Buffalo State College President Katherine Conway-Turner. Both campuses were conducting pre-semester testing before in-person classes resume for the spring semester.
