COVID-19 testing and exposure, top questions answered

Find out exactly what to do if you’re experiencing symptoms, if you’re asymptomatic and want a test and more.

Students walk along Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

Photography By:

Ryan S. Brandenberg

Temple's testing center is located along the street level of Morgan Hall on Cecil B. Moore Avenue.

We’ve got answers to the top questions the Temple community is asking Health Services around COVID-19 testing and exposure. Learn the play-by-play for exactly what to do, whether you have symptoms or not.

What to do if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19

Isolate yourself immediately, even if you haven’t received a test.
Log in to the Online Student Health portal, click on the COVID-19 tab and record your symptoms. (Temple employees should call Employee Health Services at 215-204-2679 to report a positive case.)
Wait for Health Services to contact you with suggested next steps.
Continue to isolate for a minimum of 10 days. (Before your isolation may end, you must be fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication.)

COVID-19 termniology

Quarantine: Separating people who appear to be healthy but may have been exposed to a contagious illness to make sure that they do not become sick and spread the illness to others.
Isolate: Keeping people who are sick and contagious separated from people who are healthy to ensure that they do not spread the illness.
Close contact: Being closer than six feet for 15 minutes or more to a person who has tested positive for, or is presumed to have, COVID-19.

There are several symptoms of COVID-19 and the virus manifests differently in everyone. Review the CDC’s list of symptoms and recommendations for when you should seek medical attention .

What to do if you receive a positive test for COVID-19 from a healthcare provider outside of Student or Employee Health

Isolate yourself immediately, even if you don’t have symptoms.
Log in to the Online Student Health portal and upload your positive test result and click on the COVID-19 tab and complete the symptoms tracker. (Temple employees should call Employee Health Services at 215-204-2679 to report a positive case.) It’s very important to let us know about a positive result for contact tracing and to help stop the spread of the virus.
Wait for Health Services to contact you with suggested next steps.

What to do if you think you are a close contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19

Plan to quarantine for a total of 14 days.
Isolate immediately if you do develop symptoms and log your symptoms to Online Student Health portal.
Using the Online Student Health portal, report that you believe you are a close contact of someone who you believe has or has tested positive for COVID-19. (Temple employees should call Employee Health Services at 215-204-2679 to report a positive case.)
Wait seven days following exposure (halfway through your quarantine period) to get tested to reduce the chance of getting a false negative.
Continue to quarantine until you’ve reached 14 days, even if you receive a negative test.

What to do if you want to get a COVID-19 test, but do not have any symptoms and are unsure if you’ve been a close contact of anyone who’s tested positive
You can get an asymptomatic test at one of the following locations in Philadelphia. (Currently, testing at the university’s permanent testing center in Morgan Hall is focusing on symptomatic patients, close contacts and individuals in high-risk areas. Testing is also available for students planning to return home.) At this time, Temple does not recommend weekly testing without exposure.

A message from Senior Director, Health Services Mark Denys was sent to the Temple community on Sept. 4 about testing and exposure. Read the full announcement.

- Samantha Krotzer