Despite the Delta variant of COVID-19 spreading throughout the country, Ursinus College is looking forward to a better fall thanks in part to its mostly vaccinated campus and COVID-19 testing, writes Susan Snyder for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Last year, the Collegeville school adopted one of the region’s most aggressive testing policies for COVID-19. All 1,180 students were tested each week.

But despite these measures, Ursinus recorded 40 cases in the fall and 151 in the spring.

This year, all 1,500 students will be back on campus as there are no hybrid or remote options available.

One of the main reasons is the expected high vaccination rate of 90 percent among staff and students. The school is mandating vaccinations for its students with exemptions for religious and medical reasons.

“A high level of vaccination is essential, but a high level of vaccination is probably not enough to guarantee that you’re not going to have significant infections on campus,” said Mark Schneider, Ursinus College dean and chair of the school’s coronavirus task force.

As a result, unvaccinated students will continue COVID-19 testing once a week, while vaccinated students will be tested around every three weeks.

Read more about Ursinus College and COVID-19 testing in The Philadelphia Inquirer.