In line with orders given by the City of Philadelphia and Commonwealth Pennsylvania, all non-essential employees of Temple University have been instructed to work remotely until further notice. Resources for working remotely are available online through Information Technology Services

For students and faculty, online and alternative learning began Monday, March 16. The last day of in-person academic activity was Friday, March 13.

No. The last day of in-person classes was Friday, March 13. Courses resumed through online and alternative learning methods on Monday, March 16.

If you have extenuating circumstances and will need to stay in a residence hall, you should contact your resident director to discuss your circumstances.

Student workers should continue to discuss the situation with their supervisors. Some may be able to continue working on campus if they are willing and able to do so, others may be able to work remotely and some may not be able to work at all for the time being, depending on their positions. If your role as a student worker is ending and you would like to know about the possibility of employment in other areas, Student Affairs will be providing information to connect students with other opportunities to the extent that they exist.

Temple is providing ongoing updates to the university community via universitywide emails and regular updates to both this website and TUportal. Please refer to these resources first for any questions you may have.

The university has implemented a social distancing strategy to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and suspended in-person classes after March 13, 2020. Online instruction in all courses officially began on Monday, March 16 and will continue through the end of the semester.  During this time, all in-person events on U.S. campuses have also been suspended. The university administration is currently working on contingency plans for Commencement ceremonies scheduled to take place in May, and members of the university community will be notified should there be a need to make changes to the traditional ceremonies as they are scheduled.

All university-affiliated international travel for faculty, staff and students has been suspended through the end of the spring 2020 semester, unless expressly approved by the provost. University-affiliated domestic travel and personal travel, especially to areas in the U.S. experiencing sustained community transmission of COVID-19, are strongly discouraged. Any Temple faculty or employees who have upcoming plans for travel should consult with their supervisors.

As the COVID-19 situation evolved earlier this year, Temple issued its first memos regarding the suspension of university-affiliated travel to China on Jan. 30 and Feb. 3. On Feb. 28, the university issued a follow-up announcement to students, faculty and staff outlining steps taken at the university’s international campuses in Rome and Tokyo and advising on new travel restrictions related to South Korea. Additional updates continue to be communicated to the university community as needed, and they are available via the links above on this page and on Temple's news site.

University administrators and health officials are closely monitoring the outbreak, are in frequent contact with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, and will continue to communicate any significant updates to the university community. Travel advisories are also updated regularly on Temple’s website.

You don’t have to register personal travel with Temple if you work at a U.S. campus, but personal travel to areas heavily affected by sustained community transmission of COVID-19 is strongly discouraged. TUJ faculty and staff have a different requirement. See the TUJ FAQ.

For your own safety, you should stay up to date on the travel guidelines of reputable international and federal agencies and current federal quarantines. See the CDC’s latest travel notices and the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisories. The World Health Organization also has information and advice about traveling during the COVID-19 epidemic on its website.

You should also stay up to date on the university’s travel restrictions related to COVID-19.

Anyone who has traveled to countries designated by the CDC as being sites of sustained community transmission of COVID-19 (often countries under a Level 2 or Level 3 Travel Health Notice from the CDC) must self-monitor for 14 days from the date of their arrival back into the United States. Self-monitoring means staying home and avoiding gatherings and public spaces, including Temple’s campuses. If you have traveled to any countries indicated by the CDC as having sustained community spread of COVID-19 in the past 14 days, you should immediately contact Student Health Services or Employee Health Services to notify them of your travel, you should not come to any of Temple’s U.S. campuses until you have completed your 14-day self-monitoring period.

Most importantly, if you develop a fever, cough or have difficulty breathing, you should immediately contact health care professionals—your family physician, local health authorities, or Student or Employee Health. You should call before visiting any health care provider so that appropriate precautions can be taken.

Please note that this situation continues to evolve globally, so you should stay up-to-date on the CDC’s travel notices and on the U.S. Department of State’s travel advisories if you have plans to travel. 

If you have not traveled to any of these countries within the past two weeks or been in close contact with someone confirmed to have COVID-19, your risk of contracting the virus is low. 

The university discourages domestic travel to regions with human-to-human transmission in the community. Faculty and staff are also discouraged from attending large conferences at this time and encouraged to seek web-based or teleconferencing options as an alternative. Please check with your supervisor or department chair if you have work-related travel planned for any reason.

All common areas, particularly places that many people touch (such as doorknobs, elevator buttons and railings), are being cleaned with hospital-grade quaternary disinfectant A-456II, which is a product listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as protective against COVID-19. All bathrooms are cleaned and sanitized daily. 

A coronavirus is a type of virus that can cause a wide range of illnesses, from the common cold to severe pneumonia. The novel coronavirus (sometimes referred to as Wuhan coronavirus for the place where it was first detected) at the center of the current epidemic has been named SARS-CoV-19, and the illness it causes has been named COVID-19 (abbreviation for coronavirus disease 2019). This is a new strain of coronavirus.

The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, and shortness of breath. 

It is spread through direct contact with saliva or respiratory droplets, similar to a cold or the flu. According to the CDC, person-to-person spread of this coronavirus is most likely to occur with close contact, or contact within six feet, with an infected person who coughs or sneezes.

On March 14, Temple reported the first case of COVID-19 in anyone affiliated with the university. The case involved a student who traveled to Spain during spring break and left campus on Wednesday, March 11, to self-isolate at home in the Philadelphia suburbs. Health officials are contacting anyone who was in close contact with the student.

Philadelphia officials continue to announce more confirmed cases in the city. 

There is currently no medication to treat or prevent coronavirus. Like many viruses, steps may be taken to manage symptoms caused by coronavirus. Those who have become severely ill with the novel coronavirus have been hospitalized to receive care.

The novel coronavirus causing the current outbreak of illness has been officially named since the outbreak began. SARS-CoV-2019 is the name of the virus itself, while COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is the name of the illness the virus causes. 

Self-monitoring means staying at home and avoiding group gatherings and public places. During this time, individuals should also monitor their health carefully, checking their temperature at least once a day. Learn more about what it means to self-monitor.

Quarantine is 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. It typically covers the “incubation period” of a given illness, which refers to the period of time between exposure and when symptoms of the illness are known to appear.

Isolation means keeping people who are sick and contagious separated from people who are healthy to ensure that they do not spread the illness.

All American citizens and lawful permanent residents traveling to the United States from China are being directed to one of 11 airports where health screenings are being conducted by CDC staff. Those who have returned from China (regions other than Hubei Province, where the outbreak is centered) who have not shown any symptoms of illness are monitored for 14 days, at which point they are cleared if they do not develop any symptoms. Travelers from China who are allowed on to their final destinations after screenings are advised to limit contact with people for two weeks. 

The incubation period—or period between virus exposure and symptom development—for the novel coronavirus is estimated at two to 14 days, with the majority of symptoms developing within about a week of exposure, according to the CDC. So, for example, if someone traveled from China in early- to mid-January and has not gotten sick, they are highly unlikely to have the COVID-19.

The CDC has also issued travel guidelines for South Korea, Italy and other countries that have experienced significant outbreaks of the virus. See all of the CDC’s COVID-19 travel advisories.

It is also possible that additional screening could take place for travelers returning from other areas that have been heavily affected by outbreaks of the virus.

Surgical masks may help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses when worn by people who are sick, as they limit the spread of large airborne particles from coughing or sneezing. According to the CDC, if you are not sick, you will not be protected from illness by wearing a mask. You should wear a mask only if a healthcare provider instructs you to do so.

A respirator (an N95, for example) is worn by healthcare personnel in close contact with people who are sick, because respirators, when properly worn, effectively filter small airborne particles that can cause disease. N95 respirators must be fit-tested for each individual in order to be effective. If you have more questions, this infographic from the CDC may help.

More information is available in this Q&A with a Temple University Hospital infectious disease physician and a faculty member from the College of Public Health who specializes in epidemiology. For additional information, visit the CDC’s COVID-19 page and the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 site. 

Temple students and employees are encouraged to call Temple Student (215-204-7500) and Employee Health (215-204-2679) Services with additional questions or comments.