COVID-19 testing guidance for staff and students
As part of the government's plan, routine contract tracing ends on 24 February 2022. For the remainder of this term, Imperial's COVID-19 Contract Tracing Hub will continue to provide support and advice to staff and students regarding the management of COVID.
We encourage all staff and students to continue to take regular COVID tests before coming into campus and to report the results. While no longer used for contract tracing purposes, reporting your results will help us continue to manage case levels in our community and ensure that we adopt the appropriate safety measure.
Results should be reported in the same way: the self-declaration form for PCR tests, and via MyImperial for LFD tests.
Our current position is that we will continue to offer on-site asymptomatic PCR testing for all staff and students.
The government’s LFD Collect scheme has now come to an end, and from 17.00 on Friday 25 February we are no longer able to distribute LFD tests on campus. Staff and students can order LFD tests free-of-charge from the Gov.uk website until 1 April 2022.
How do I report my tests?
| Type of test | How do I report my result? |
|---|---|
| LFD test – negative result |
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| LFD test – positive result |
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College PCR test – negative result |
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| College PCR test – positive result |
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| NHS or private PCR test – negative result |
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| NHS or private PCR test – positive result |
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What are the other differences between the two options for testing?
| PCR testing scheme | LFD tests |
|---|---|
| You must book a testing slot in advance | Order via the government website |
| You take the test at one of our testing sessions | You take the test at home |
| You usually receive the results within 36 working hours of when the test was taken | You receive the results in 30 minutes |
| Please report positive results to the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Hub | Please report all results via the ‘COVID Rapid testing reporting’ form on MyImperial and to the NHS, as well as reporting positive results to the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Hub |
Frequently asked questions
I have been vaccinated - do I still need to take regular tests?
We encourage all staff and students to continue to take regular COVID tests before coming into campus and to report the results.
Can I book another test if I have tested positive?
If you have recently recovered from COVID-19, you should only test using LFD kits rather than the College's PCR testing scheme.
A PCR test will nearly always return a positive result from your previous COVID-19 diagnosis meaning you'll test positive despite no longer being infectious.
As per the government's guidelines, an LFD test will only show as positive if you are newly infectious with COVID-19.
Where do I find data on the number of positive tests at the College?
We publish anonymous data daily (Monday to Friday) on the total number of positive tests reported to the College. Visit the COVID-19 testing data page.