Before You Come to Campus

Take a COVID-19 test, preferably a rapid antigen test the day you travel or a PCR test 48 hours before you travel. If your result is negative, you do not need to report it; if it is positive, report it before traveling and follow the instructions you receive. You may not come to campus until you are cleared to travel. Create an account with Color Health, for the COVID-19 test you will take when you arrive (see below), and for subsequent asymptomatic and symptomatic testing. You can learn more about on-campus testing that will be available to you.

When You Arrive

You will need to take a PCR test through the Yale COVID-19 Testing Program ‘s Color process as outlined in the linked message above. Also be sure to pick up your welcome kit that will include five Color PCR test kits, two rapid antigen test kits, masks, and testing guidance. First-year students will receive welcome kits from first-year counselors, and all other students, whether living on campus or off, will be able to collect them from their residential college offices.

During the Semester

Regular asymptomatic testing through Color will be available but not required, as testing was previously. You should test any time you think you have been exposed or when you are experiencing symptoms. Additional testing may be required to participate in certain music and drama events.

Yale’s COVID-19 testing process has changed, effective August 8. New processes for asymptomatic and symptomatic testing have eliminated the need for physical test sites. Details for testing are provided on below:

• Other than arrival testing for students, routine asymptomatic COVID-19 testing will no longer be required for students, faculty, and staff—even if they are exempt from vaccination and/or boosters—except in certain schools and units where regular testing supports specific activities.
• Testing will continue to be required for those individuals who are identified as close contacts< of persons with COVID-19, even if they are asymptomatic.
• All members of the community are expected to isolate and test if they have COVID-19-related symptoms.
• Symptomatic and asymptomatic PCR COVID-19 testing is now available through the Yale COVID-19 Testing Program’s recently implemented Color platform, which allows students, faculty, and staff to obtain and drop off test kits at kiosks around campus.
• Students, faculty, and staff who test positive for COVID-19 outside of the Yale Testing Program are expected to notify the university so that they can receive advice about isolation and treatment.

Find out more about when to test and which test to use.

The university requires all students, faculty, staff, and postdoctoral/postgraduate trainees — other than those with an approved medical or religious exemption — to be fully vaccinated and to obtain a booster shot within 14 days of eligibility. Documented COVID-19 vaccinations or approved exemptions are required as a condition of enrollment. For more details please see our vaccination policies at COVID-19 Vaccination Policy | COVID-19 Information (yale.edu)

COVID-19 vaccination with a primary series and one booster is still required of all students, faculty, and staff unless they have approved medical or religious exemptions.

Visitors are required to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines, as defined by the CDC.

If you test positive for COVID-19, you will receive instructions for isolating for five to seven days, either in isolation housing, in your room, or in your off-campus housing, depending on your housing configuration.  For more details visit What to do While Isolating on Campus on the Yale COVID-19 website

CDC guidance and university policy continue to require that individuals who test positive for COVID-19 isolate away from others until they are released to return to class or work. Details about isolation are available on the Yale COVID-19 website. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 are encouraged to contact their healthcare providers to determine if they are eligible for treatment.

Close contacts of individuals with COVID-19 will no longer be required to quarantine, even if they are exempt from vaccination and/or boosters. Close contacts are still required to test and to mask when around others for 10 days following exposure.

Masks are currently required in all classes, in health facilities, and on Yale transit, and they are welcomed anywhere on campus. Certain high-density events or performances may also require masking. For more detail visit Mask Requirements and Guidance | Yale Environmental Health & Safety.

The university’s masking policy, which includes a requirement for masking in classrooms and instructional spaces*, will remain in place for at least the first weeks of the semester as the campus “repopulates.”

_{*Masking is not required in classroom spaces when they are in other uses – e.g., a seminar room used for a meeting space.}

The masking policy will be reviewed early in the semester and revised, if indicated, in accordance with campus and local conditions and public health guidance.

Learn about on-campus policies, procedures, and services for keeping Yale healthy. Please visit for details on Dining, Athletics, events and more.  On Campus | COVID-19 Information (yale.edu)

Public health guidelines and Yale College COVID policy for the performing arts can be found on the Undergraduate Production website Yale College COVID policy for performing arts | Yale Undergraduate Production.

Visitors are allowed on campus if they are up to date on their vaccines. Beginning in the Fall of 2022, undergraduate students will be able to serve as hosts. You can find more information about Yale’s visitors policy on Yale's COVID-19 website.