Announcements

The guiding priority of the University, from the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been to protect the health and safety of Penn students, faculty, staff, postdocs, patients, and visitors. Moving to a virtual learning platform and depopulating the campus in a matter of days required an unprecedented effort. We are profoundly grateful to everyone at Penn who contributed to facilitate this extraordinary transition.

We are grateful to all of you for your hard work and creativity in resuming classes—and for your patience in navigating the many unwanted disruptions to our semester. We are writing now to let you know that our current remote learning plan will extend to all credit-bearing courses scheduled to begin on May 26, including both Summer Session I and the 11-week Summer Session. This decision, while not taken lightly, arises from the indefinite stay-at-home order in Philadelphia and the need to resume campus activities only when it is considered safe do so.

Today we are announcing that the University of Pennsylvania’s interruption of all onsite operations, except for those that are life-sustaining essential employees, will continue until further notice. We will keep you updated well in advance when more information is available on an exact date for returning to onsite operations.

Consistent with an order issued by Governor Wolf late Thursday afternoon, the University of Pennsylvania is suspending all operations performed onsite except for those that are life-sustaining. Remote work is not impacted by this order and is expected to continue. Effective 12:01 a.m. on March 21, 2020, only those University employees who are performing life-sustaining work are permitted to be physically present at the University. This includes, but is not limited to, those employees performing the following services for the University:

We are enormously grateful for your patience and understanding during the events of the past few weeks. None of us expected—or wanted—the disruptions to this semester. We are now excited to return on Monday to teaching and learning, our most important work together as a Penn community.

This is a generation-defining moment. And like every such moment that has gone before, it is not only the crisis itself but also how we respond that matters most. The Penn community has responded heroically.

Penn’s insurance carriers, Independence (Blue Cross), Aetna, CVS Caremark, Keystone (IBC), and Penn Medicine’s Connected Health Virtual Care Telemedicine Practice are all closely monitoring the COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) situation. They are committed to making sure that our participants can receive appropriate testing and treatment for this virus if needed.

I recently informed Penn undergraduate, graduate, and professional students that three of our undergraduate students have tested positive for COVID-19. All had traveled internationally during Spring Break and were very forthcoming about details of their itinerary, allowing us to conduct a thorough contact investigation.  The COVID-19 outbreak is unprecedented and is impacting all of our lives—both on and off campus. I want to again assure you that the University remains committed to the health and safety of its campus during these challenging times. 

Thank you to all of you who have followed our guidance regarding remote work and engaging in good and healthy practices both in and out of the Penn environment. We are writing today to clarify Penn’s guidance in the context of the recent announcements from federal, state and city officials.

I am writing to share that three Penn undergraduate students have tested positive for COVID-19. Two students are home, away from campus. One was on campus and tested by Penn Medicine. Upon release from the hospital, that student will be quarantined and cared for in an undisclosed campus location following public health protocols.  Protecting the anonymity of these students is of utmost importance. Please respect your classmates’ privacy and think about how you would want others to act if you were contending with COVID-19.