Dear Temple students,

With spring break approaching at the end of this week, we wanted to provide information about departure testing and healthy practices for the break. 

Right now, we are seeing several positive trends with regard to the virus. Cases and positivity rates are down, both here at Temple and in Philadelphia, and it is important that this trend continues for the remainder of the semester. 

If you are traveling over the break and will come in contact with anyone who may be more vulnerable to COVID-19, we encourage you to schedule a predeparture COVID-19 test. Tests are available this week at the Mitten Hall and Paley Hall testing locations and can be scheduled through the patient health portal. A limited number of take-home antigen tests are also available for free at the Mitten and Paley testing sites.

While we encourage all of our students to get tested for COVID-19 before leaving campus, this is not a preventive measure. The best way to keep yourself and your family healthy is to ensure that you are up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines and are wearing a well-fitted surgical or KN95 mask. The CDC provides additional guidance for traveling during spring break here. 

When you return to campus, after spring break, you are also able to get tested for COVID-19. You can easily schedule that test ahead of time through the patient health portal, and we encourage you to do so.

The pandemic continues to wear on all of us, but the finish line is in sight. That is why we must continue to take steps to keep our communities safe, both through spring break and the remainder of the semester. I want to thank all of you for everything you have done this year to help keep the Temple and North Philadelphia communities safe. More than 97% of the Temple community came together to commit to #VaxUpTU, and there is no understating the significance of that. 

I hope you all have a safe and relaxing spring break.

Sincerely,

Mark Denys
Senior Director, Health Services