The 90-day Post COVID-19 Window Explained

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 13, 2020) — Same as in the fall, the University of Kentucky will kick off the semester with required COVID-19 entry testing for all students who are physically coming to campus at any point during the semester.

However, students who have tested positive in the 90 days leading up to Jan. 14 (on or following Oct. 16), are not required to participate in re-entry testing, per Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidance.

  • According to the CDC, individuals can become susceptible to reinfection approximately 90 days following the onset of infection. For this reason, students who tested positive before Oct. 16 are required to participate in entry testing.  
  • Additionally, according to the CDC, individuals may continue to test positive for the 90 days following the onset of infection, even if they have recovered from the illness. For this reason, students who tested positive on or after Oct. 16 are NOT required to participate in entry testing. 
  • Per the CDC, for persons recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection, a positive PCR without new symptoms during the 90 days after illness onset more likely represents persistent shedding of viral RNA than reinfection. If such a person remains asymptomatic during this 90-day period, then any re-testing is unlikely to yield useful information, even if the person had close contact with an infected person.

For more information please visit https://www.uky.edu/coronavirus/students/testing-screening-and-tracing.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.