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NNS Will Transition COVID-19 Testing Program

Published May 27, 2021

Dear Shipbuilders:

For about nine months, the NNS COVID-19 Test Site has quickly identified shipbuilders exposed to the virus and returned healthy employees to work safely and promptly.

With vaccinations on the rise and infection rates dropping, now is the time to transition from a process overseen by shipbuilders to a testing program administered by QuadMed, which will continue to help keep our shipbuilders safe and meet guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Effective June 7, the NNS COVID-19 testing program will transition to QuadMed, which operates the HII Family Health Center. For now, QuadMed will continue to use the Old Apprentice School Gym (Bldg. 601), where the NNS Test Center has operated since August 2020.

This transition will introduce a test protocol that is more appropriate, now that fewer employees require tests. It covers employees who have symptoms of the virus, as well as those who have come in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, either at work or in the community. Leased employees should contact their supplier for more information.

Employees who are symptomatic will test on day one. It is important to contact the COVID Hotline at 1-844-243-8749 before testing to ensure you are not turned away when you come to the center. If the test is negative, they will test again on day five. They can return to work on day eight if the second test is negative. These employees will receive return-to-work calls and their supervisors will be notified.

Asymptomatic employees who are close contacts will test on day five. They will return to work on day eight, following a negative test result. If you are identified as a close contact but are fully vaccinated and have not developed symptoms, you are exempt from this process.

Remember, NNS will no longer offer quarantine pay starting June 1.

The NNS test program was intended to help our shipbuilders through the most difficult time during the pandemic. Fewer employees now require COVID-19 tests, which is a sign that more shipbuilders are receiving vaccinations. Due to these facts, now is the time to transfer our testing to the medical provider that supports our shipbuilders on a daily basis.

For more information about the new COVID-19 test process, please see this list of FAQs. You can also email [email protected].

Sincerely,
The COVID CAG Crisis Action Group