TUJ Communications
1/21/22

Dear TUJ students:

Last night, we reached out about a student who was diagnosed with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. As this potentially impacts the health of our community, I wanted to provide you with an update.

Update – Negative Test

  • This morning, the student visited a medical clinic for further testing. We just received the test results from the clinic and the student fortunately tested negative.
  • As noted in my message yesterday, this student was tested for COVID about 10 days ago after experiencing various symptoms. At that point in time, his test came back negative.
  • The student’s closest contact and another close contact have now been tested. Their results have come back negative.

We are encouraged by the above information and various negative tests. It is also heartening that the student’s symptoms are limited to a runny nose at this point. At the same time, you may question the meaning of the positive test that the student received yesterday. 

So what does this possibly mean? 

  • Different test results?  COVID-19 tests are not perfect and can produce “false positives” or “false negatives.” In this case, the student now has multiple negative tests. His closest contact has a negative test. These are encouraging signs about lower risk. At the same time though, in light of the positive test, we ask that any close contacts still follow the guidance and direction provided last night.
  • Coming to campus – all students. We are excited to have you here on campus, but please help us in continuing to make this possible by doing the following:
    • Closely monitor your health regularly.
    • If you are not feeling well or experiencing systems consistent with COVID-19, please stay home and join your classes online. 
    • If you are concerned about COVID, please secure a test. If you are experiencing symptoms and decide to test, we would ask that you refrain from coming to campus while waiting for the results.
  • Coming to campus – close contacts. If you are a close contact of the student – please continue to closely monitor your situation. We would ask that you follow our guidance and policies. If you have questions, please contact Etsuko Suzuki at etsuko.suzuki@tuj.temple.edu.
  • Wearing your mask on campus. Please diligently wear your mask when interacting with others. This includes when sitting in the cafeteria and parliament. If you are not actively eating or drinking, please keep you mask on so that we can protect the health of our community. 
  • Other precautions. Please make sure that you are interacting with others in a manner that with protect both you and them. We ask for your cooperation and courtesy in this regard. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.  We will continue to keep you updated with any information. We hope that you have been able to enjoy the first week of classes and look forward to a successful semester. 

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Matthew Wilson
Dean