The University of Pennsylvania announced today it will hold almost all undergraduate fall classes online and require students to test for COVID-19 before arriving on campus amid rising cases nationwide and in Pennsylvania.
For undergraduates in the University of Pennsylvania’s Nursing School, in-person courses will be limited to clinical work. For students in Penn’s other three undergraduate schools, a small number of courses will be offered in-person “where it is essential to have an in-person experience in order to meet curricular and/or pedagogical requirements,” according to the announcement.
Penn students are required to be tested a minimum of two times, once within 14 days of arriving on campus, and another upon arrival, according to the announcement. The two tests will be paid for by the university, the first being mailed to domestic students’ home addresses. The university will continue to test all students with symptoms and those who have been in close contact with others who test positive throughout the fall semester.
Temple will release more details on its testing plan next week, said Ray Betzner, a spokesperson for the university. The university has said it would test all symptomatic and some asymptomatic students throughout the semester at its testing center on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near Broad Street.
Philadelphia has averaged approximately 143 new COVID-19 cases a day in the last two weeks, according to Spotlight PA.
Penn will also require students to enroll in PennOpen Pass, a daily symptom tracking program.
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