Thanksgiving Departure Testing Guidance for Students and Employees

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and the end of in-person residential instruction on Nov. 24, Purdue is committed to helping students return home safely and helping any Boilermaker traveling over the holidays make a plan for COVID-19 testing before departure if desired.

For any student or employee who wishes to be tested on campus, the Protect Purdue Health Center will offer expanded capacity for testing at TREC starting Nov. 14. Results from on-campus testing are typically returned within approximately 48-72 hours. An appointment for departure testing at TREC can be made online here. (Please note that you must make an appointment at least 24 hours in advance.)

Because of the point-in-time nature of a COVID-19 test, individuals who plan to travel outside the Greater Lafayette area may also consider scheduling a test at a no-cost local site at their destination immediately upon arrival and then following the Protect Purdue Pledge (social distancing, masking, etc.) until a result is available, typically within 48 hours. 

For Indiana residents, LHI/OptumServe sites are available throughout the state. For those traveling out-of-state, the destination’s state health department website will provide resources to find local testing options. CVS Health also offers drive-through testing at retail locations across the country that can be scheduled three days in advance.  

Those who have traveled outside the Greater Lafayette area for Thanksgiving should consider whether or not to self-quarantine for 14 days and/or be tested for COVID-19 upon return and prior to physical presence on campus, given the current prevalence of the virus at points of travel and activities at their destinations.  Anyone returning to campus after Thanksgiving who may have been in a situation that raises the risk of contracting COVID-19, such as spending time indoors in close contact with others without masks or social distancing, is encouraged to get tested for COVID-19. 

Additional information regarding on-campus COVID-19 testing and holiday testing schedules can be found here.  

Full campus departure guidance is available here. A printable flyer (PDF) summarizing campus departure guidance is available here.