COVID-19 (coronavirus) advice for the UQ community - HEALTH - Testing

Find your nearest Covid-19 testing centre on the Queensland Government website. 

No. You are required to self-isolate at home while you wait for test results which may take from one to several days.  You must not attend campus or visit any UQ facility until you have your results. The people you live with and other close contacts do not need to self-isolate unless advised otherwise from the Public Health unit. 

If the result is positive, you will receive a call from a public health doctor or nurse who will tell you what to do next.  You will need to stay at home in self-isolation until you recover. You will be monitored by Queensland Public Health. 

If the result is negative, your doctor or the clinic that tested you will let you know.  You may return to work unless you are unwell for other reasons. 

No. If you return a negative COVID-19 test result, a medical clearance is not required to return to campus but you should retain a copy of your negative test result for record keeping purposes. You must however, remain isolated until your results come through, as per current public health recommendations, and not return to campus until completely asymptomatic. You must not come to campus if you are still unwell with respiratory symptoms even if your test is negative. 

Yes. If a positive test result is confirmed, you will need to obtain a medical clearance to return to work or study. Positive cases can return to campus when you have fully recovered and have met the criteria for clearance from isolation. If you have been hospitalised for the infection, you will have documentation from the hospital about the period of hospitalisation and likely period of incapacitation following discharge from hospital. Clearance to return to campus may also be given by the public health authority or the treating clinician. A declaration from you stating you have fulfilled the quarantine requirements as specified by the Public Health authority may also be needed. 

If you have completed a 14-day quarantine period (after returning from travel or being in close contact with a confirmed case) and did not develop any symptoms during quarantine, you do not need a medical clearance or a COVID-19 test in order to return to campus. 

Close contact is considered to be either: 

• face-to-face contact in any setting with a confirmed or probable case, for 15 minutes or more. This is cumulative over the course of one week. It starts from 48 hours before the onset of symptoms in the confirmed or probable case. 
• sharing of a closed space with a confirmed or probable case for a prolonged period (e.g. more than 2 hours). This is in the period extending from 48 hours before onset of symptoms in the confirmed or probable case.    

Casual contact is defined as any person having less than 15 minutes face-to-face contact with a symptomatic confirmed case in any setting or sharing a closed space with a symptomatic confirmed case for less than 2 hours.  A closed setting might include tutorial rooms or small offices.