Temple reports first off campus student COVID-19 case

There are now five active COVID-19 cases among students.

Mandatory COVID-19 testing for students moving into on campus housing takes place at the Aramark STAR complex on Aug. 19. As of Thursday, the university reported five active COVID-19 cases among students. | COLLEEN CLAGGETT / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Updated at 12:55 p.m.

Four students on campus and one student off campus have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the university total to 5 active cases, according to Temple University’s new COVID-19 dashboard

On campus cases are defined as someone who was in Temple facilities at the time they were infectious, while off campus cases are those who live near a Temple campus and were not known to be in Temple facilities while infectious, according to the dashboard.

The university cannot provide information on the off campus case, said university spokesperson Ray Betzner. 

Temple first reported on Tuesday two students on campus who tested positive.

The count includes cases at Temple’s Philadelphia region campuses only, including Main Campus, Ambler Campus, Health Sciences Center, School of Podiatric Medicine and Temple University Center City, according to the dashboard.

The on campus students who tested positive have the option to quarantine for two weeks at home or in quarantine and isolation rooms in Johnson and Hardwick Halls, Betzner said.

All students moving into on campus housing are required to be tested for COVID-19 at the Aramark STAR Complex upon arrival. Students were asked to quarantine for two weeks before moving to campus.

New students moving in will be tested through Monday, Betzner said. 

The university will be reaching out to students from 25 states the Philadelphia Department of Public Health has identified as “hot” states, or states that have a high count of COVID-19 cases, and asking them to be tested for COVID-19 at the Aramark STAR Complex, Betzner said.

Students feeling symptoms can go to the university’s Student Health Services to be tested, and will also be able to go to the new testing center on Cecil B. Moore Avenue once it opens, he added. 

“We continue to change what we are doing to meet the needs of the community, and our plans continue to evolve,” Betzner said.

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