Students attending in-person classes, using campus facilities or living near Main Campus will be asked to schedule and administer their own COVID-19 tests each week during the spring semester, wrote Mark Denys, director of Student Health Services, in an email to students on Friday.
Student Health Services will assign each student to one of five testing groups determining how frequently they will be tested, The Temple News reported.
Students living in campus housing, taking in-person courses that meet more than twice a week, living in the surrounding six ZIP codes near Main Campus and taking in-person classes that meet at least once a week, and students working in campus facilities more than one day a week will be tested twice a week, Denys wrote.
Those living outside of the six ZIP codes who take in-person classes at least once a week and students working in campus facilities for less than two days a week will be tested once a week.
Students living off campus in one of the six ZIP codes who are enrolled with no in-person classes and students regularly using campus facilities have the option of being tested once a week, Denys wrote.
To schedule a test, students must use their Patient Health Portal through Student Health Services. Student Health Services will not offer walk-in testing, Denys wrote.
Students required to be tested twice a week should schedule their appointments at least a day apart, meaning they should be tested on Mondays and Thursdays or Tuesdays and Fridays. Students being tested once a week should schedule their appointment on Wednesdays, Denys wrote.
Scheduling for next-week appointments will open on the Friday before, Denys wrote.
Asymptomatic students will be tested on Main Campus at the Great Court in Mitten Hall Mondays through Fridays between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. or at the Student Center Center South Room 200ABC Mondays through Fridays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Denys wrote.
Students will administer their own nasal swab tests using a step-by-step instruction guide, Denys wrote.
Students will receive results 12 to 36 hours after taking the test. Those who test negative for COVID-19 will receive a text or email, while students who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a call from a Student Health Services employee with information regarding their next step, Denys wrote. Contact tracers will advise students who come in close contact with a COVID-19 positive person to schedule an testing appointment at the Morgan Hall testing center.
Symptomatic students must be tested at the Morgan Hall testing center, Denys wrote. Faculty will be tested in the Paley Building, Denys wrote.
Students who received a positive COVID-19 test in the past 90 days should not get tested, Denys wrote. Those who have been vaccinated should continue to be tested if they are a part of one of the required groups, Denys wrote.
The Health Sciences Center will operate three testing sites from Monday to Friday at the Medical Education and Research Building Room 105 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Pharmacy Room 230 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Dental Room 374 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Denys wrote.
The School of Podiatric Medicine will operate a testing site at the Podiatry Residence Hall Room 126 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Denys wrote.
The Ambler Campus will operate a testing site at Widener Hall Room 209 on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Denys wrote.
Correction: A previous version of this article said students being tested twice a week should schedule their tests at least three days apart. Temple has asked students to schedule their tests at least one day apart.
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