Penn State Starting 2022 Spring Semester In-Person as Planned
“Our students, faculty and staff have a very high vaccination rate, we are testing weekly those who are not vaccinated and we are continuing to require face masks to be worn indoors”
This should be happening at schools across the country. Penn State is taking the correct and reasonable approach.
Penn State News reports:
Penn State to start semester in person, as planned
Penn State will start the spring semester as planned, with in-person classes and activities held as scheduled with continued health and safety protocols in place. The University will continue to closely monitor the conditions around University Park and its Commonwealth Campuses and will alter its plans if necessary. Additional and/or enhanced protocols may be added in the coming weeks to reflect the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus omicron variant.
As previously announced, University leadership has been monitoring local hospital capacity, the spread of the coronavirus omicron variant and local, state and national pandemic conditions while considering whether the University would begin the semester in person or start remotely.
Based on advice from Penn State’s COVID-19 Operations Control Center (COCC), Penn State leadership has determined that, at this time, conditions do not warrant a move to remote learning and other activities to start the semester.
“Our students, faculty and staff have a very high vaccination rate, we are testing weekly those who are not vaccinated and we are continuing to require face masks to be worn indoors,” said Penn State President Eric Barron. “With these measures in place, together with hospitalization data and what we are learning about omicron, we believe we can safely, but carefully, return to on-campus classes and activities as planned.”
“I urge all of our students to order a free, mail-in Vault Health test kit to get tested for COVID-19 before returning to campus so that they can isolate at home if they are COVID-19 positive. Any student or employee can currently order up to 12 Vault Health kits for at-home use,” said Kelly Wolgast, director of the COCC. I want to emphasize that students at all campus locations can take actions now to order a test and complete it next week to know their health status before returning to a campus.”
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