With students returning to in-person classes for the Spring 2022 semester on Jan. 24, Temple University has announced updated requirements and guidelines.

In a letter to students, Gregory Mandel, senior vice president and provost at Temple, proposed a number of guidelines for students pertaining to testing, masking, boosters and quarantine. 

As part of the updated guidelines, solo cloth masks will no longer be allowed when students return to campus. 

While on campus, three options are now available: a surgical mask with multiple layers of nonwoven material, a surgical mark with a cloth mask over it, or a KN95 mask. 

The university will provide a limited number of KN95 masks to students, which can be found on Main Campus at the Charles Library security desk, the TECH Center security desk, the Howard Gittis Student Center information desk and the Bell Building.

Temple is also encouraging everyone returning to campus to get tested for COVID, regardless of vaccination status. 

To schedule a test, Temple students and faculty can log into Temple’s patient health portal. For those who have received a PCR or rapid COVID-19 test outside of the university, they can also upload their results into the patient health portal. 

For students living on campus who are unable to get tested before they return to campus, they will be required to schedule an appointment to get tested within 24 hours of their return.

Students who have been granted a COVID-19 vaccine exemption will be required to resume regular testing if they will be on campus for classes or other in-person activities. Failure to do so may result in loss of access to campus facilities. 

The university is also strongly encouraging all who are eligible to receive their booster shots, which are currently available on Main Campus. 

These new guidelines come amid a surge in positive COVID cases in the region and across the country, and are congruent with the City of Philadelphia and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) new mandates and recommendations. 

As of Jan. 22, there are an estimated 225 active COVID-19 cases among Temple students and employees, according to Temple's vaccine and case dashboard. 

The City of Philadelphia has confirmed more than 261,000 cases, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health's COVID-19 case dashboard.