Active COVID-19 cases at Temple University dropped to 70 today, with new weekly cases decreasing last week as well. Each week, The Temple News will provide a brief breakdown on COVID-19 trends and cases at Temple University. Case counts include students registered at any of Temple’s Philadelphia-area campuses, according to its case dashboard. Active COVID-19 cases dropped from 253 reported last Friday to just 70 reported today. Active cases on campus have been declining since last Tuesday.

The university is considering adding weekly case and test counts and clarifying the distinction between on- and off-campus cases. Temple University is working to implement changes to its COVID-19 active case dashboard amid criticism from students and faculty regarding the way it has reported cases. The university is hoping to add weekly counts of new cases and tests performed along with the positivity rate among those tested, said Sarah Powell, Temple’s director of emergency management. Temp

Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said the city has concerns about an outbreak of COVID-19 among students at Temple University in a city press conference today. “There clearly is an outbreak occuring among Temple University students,” Farley said. As of Sept. 1, Temple reported 127 active COVID-19 cases among students. The count has rapidly increased since students returned to campus for in-person classes last week. Contact tracing shows most Temple students who were exposed

It is unquestionable this semester is looking, feeling and operating vividly different than any before. When I began as editor-in-chief in May, it was apparent this year would be turbulent for the Temple community as our university grips with the COVID-19 pandemic. While our lives within the university changed overnight last spring, as well as during the summer, so did The Temple News, as the university’s independent, student-run newspaper. Last semester, when the COVID-19 outbreak began, we h

Temple University defines on campus cases as students or employees who were in a Temple facility while they were infectious, according to the university’s active case dashboard. It defines off campus cases as those who live near one of the university’s campus but are not known to have been in a facility while infectious. Non-campus cases are “those among the university community with no known campus impact,” according to the dashboard. The count includes cases at Temple’s Philadelphia region ca

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

On campus cases are defined as someone who was in a Temple building while they were infectious, according to the dashboard. There are two students on campus who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Temple University’s new COVID-19 tracking dashboard. An on-campus student or employee case designates a person related to Temple who was “in a Temple facility during the time they were infectious,” according to the dashboard. The university dashboard also defined an active COVID-19 case

Students moved in today as residence halls reopen with socially distant guidelines and reserved quarantine and isolation dorms. Parents stand distanced on the sidewalks, many unable to see their children’s new dorms for themselves. Sounds of rushing cars, rustling packages and quiet “goodbyes” and “good lucks” fill the streets. Temple University students moved into residence halls for Main Campus move-in today as the university reopened nearly all residence halls since closing them due to the

Englert, who is the 11th President of Temple, will not leave his post until a successor is found. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. President Richard Englert announced that he will leave Temple University in a conference call taking place after the university’s Board of Trustees meeting today. He will not leave his post until a successor is found, said Board of Trustees Chairman Mitchell Morgan, though his goal is to retire by the end of the 2020-21 academic year. The se

The holiday marks the day when enslaved people in Texas learned of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, two years after it was signed. Temple University will close on Friday to recognize Juneteenth, President Richard Englert, Provost Joanne Epps and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Clark wrote in an announcement Wednesday evening. Juneteenth commemorates the ending of slavery in the United States in honor of June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas and state resident

The university announced it will begin phasing in-person operations back on campus during the summer. Temple University announced Tuesday a phased approach to reopen campus to hold a mix of in-person and online classes for the Fall 2020 semester. The semester will begin on Aug. 24 as scheduled and end in-person operations on Nov. 20, with the last week of classes and finals taking place remotely. Classes that are “very large” will occur virtually and smaller classes will offer in-person ins

Students shared photos with The Temple News of what their lives looked like before and after the university transitioned to online classes. On March 11, Temple University announced it would transition all classes online due to the spread of COVID-19, evacuate students in on-campus housing and encourage students living off campus to return home. These changes took effect beginning March 16, almost exactly halfway into the Spring 2020 semester. As the semester comes to a close, The Temple News a

The various learning environments created by the COVID-19 have made some professors choose to cancel final exams, excuse late assignments and reweight grades. While at home during the COVID-19 pandemic with her 4-year-old son, a husband who’s working for Temple University Hospital Nurses Association, and taking classes for her master’s in counseling psychology, Anna Peak is continuing to teach four undergraduate courses — but under new course expectations and requirements. She’s gotten rid of

Since returning home, many students are working new schedules at essential businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few weeks ago, Alexandra Pietralczyk worked one seven-hour shift every other weekend at Gerrity’s Supermarket when she’d visit home in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Since returning home after Temple University closed Main Campus, she is working 39.5 hours a week, on top of balancing her 17-credit, now-online course load. “When I say I’ve been stressed, it’s an understatement,” sai

The Cherry Pantry was given a limited amount of time to move its operations to remain open as Main Campus closed earlier this month due the coronavirus pandemic. Before she got her job at the Philadelphia Flower Show, Desiree Sawyer’s only source of getting food was Cherry Pantry, Temple University’s on-campus food pantry. While working, she was able to buy her own groceries and expected to be transferred to work at the Philadelphia Zoo after the flower show was over. But the zoo’s now closed

The rebates will be issued from the last day the student used their meal plan or parking pass to the end of the spring semester. Temple University will issue pro-rated refunds to students who paid for on-campus meal plans and parking passes for the spring 2020 semester amid Temple’s decision to move to online-only classes over COVID-19 concerns, said Ray Betzner, a spokesman for the university. The rebates will be issued from the last day the student used their meal plan or parking pass to the