UC San Diego installs Covid-19 testing vending machines on campus

Students and staff at the University of California, San Diego, can now get Covid-19 tests by picking them up — from vending machines.

The self-administered tests, which are free for students and staff, became available at 11 locations around campus on January 2, according to the university’s website.

Users can conduct their own nasal swabs and return their samples to the machine within 72 hours. They can then use the UC San Diego app to scan the test kit and receive their results.

Students are required to be tested once a week, and employees who work on campus have to answer a daily symptom screening and test for Covid-19 on weekly basis.

The university is not the alone in rolling out vending machines for Covid-19 testing.

Residents of Hong Kong were able to get tests from vending machines starting on December 7, 2020, according to a news release from the government. The machines were placed in transit stations.

Latvia also installed vending machines for testing on December 11, 2020, in the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital in the city of Riga, Reuters reported.