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College of Medicine pandemic response Friday round-up – week of Oct. 26-30

College of Medicine leaders updated faculty, staff and students on Oct. 30 about the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:

New updates this week

  • College of Medicine employee’s coronavirus benefits
  • Visitation policy in College
  • Break and lunchrooms caution
  • Research internships
  • Check-in process requirements
  • In-person lab meetings restriction
  • Holiday travel guidelines
  • MD and PA students moving to online instruction after Nov. 20
  • Pre-departure testing for students
  • In Case You Missed It – link to last week’s email
  • College of Medicine COVID-19 Dashboard

College of Medicine employees may be eligible for coronavirus benefits: Due to recent U.S. Department of Labor revisions to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the College of Medicine is no longer considered exempt from its paid sick leave and paid leave provisions. The FFCRA notice outlines provisions under this regulation, which will apply from Sept. 16 through Thursday, Dec. 31. College of Medicine employees may be eligible for the benefits under the FFCRA, including paid sick leave and expanded family medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. See the full email here.

Visitation policy in College: This past week, there have been several instances where employees have brought personal visitors on-site. At this time, only business-related visitors (e.g., repair technicians, consultants) are permitted in the College, and these individuals must be preapproved and must complete the External Professional Visitor form.

Break and lunchrooms caution: Please exercise increased caution when eating lunch in rooms with other employees, as everyone may be unmasked. In such conditions, it is recommended people not sit across from each other and maintain more than 6 feet of physical distancing. To free up space in the break and lunchrooms, please stagger lunch/break times, leave the room immediately after you are finished eating or seek out larger spaces (e.g., lecture halls are available many days). Outbreaks of COVID-19 in other institutions have been tentatively linked to staff members eating together.

Research internships: On-campus research internships for high school and undergraduate college students remain suspended. As the COVID-19 situation continues to fluctuate, no decisions have been made as of this time on reinstituting research internships for summer 2021.

Check-in process requirements: We’ve had several instances this week where individuals appeared to be unfamiliar with the daily mandatory electronic check-in at the College of Medicine. All faculty, staff, postdocs and students working on-site are expected to complete the short form at med.psu.edu/checkin each day before being screened at the main entrance or BMR. The check-in icon can be added to your phone for added convenience. Instructions are located here under Online Check-In.

In-person lab meeting restriction: The University has communicated that in-person lab meetings are not permitted at this time. While such meetings may adhere to College safety recommendations for masking and distancing, these meetings are not deemed essential and are not included in our Pandemic Safety Plan that has been submitted to the University. In-person lab meetings will not be permitted until we move to research Phase 5. Meetings of all types should continue to take place remotely.

Holiday travel: As the Thanksgiving and winter breaks are fast approaching, we urge everyone to remain vigilant with mask-wearing and physical distancing while traveling and in family gatherings. Currently, there are no plans to implement a quarantine period for those faculty and staff who will travel domestically, but we urge caution during all forms of travel to minimize COVID exposure. We recommend those traveling consult state and federal websites for travel restrictions. International travel is highly discouraged, and the College is not responsible if faculty, staff or students cannot regain entry to the U.S. In a study from Ireland, 13 people were infected during a 7.5-hour flight that was only 17% occupied (49 of 283 seats filled) despite everyone wearing masks. If you elect to travel internationally, a 9-day quarantine period is required upon your return to your local residence.

Pre-clinical courses for medical and physician assistant students move to online instruction after Nov. 20: All pre-clinical courses for MD and PA students, including all graduate studies courses, will move to an online instructional format after Nov. 20, 2020. MD and PA students in clinical rotations and clerkships will continue their patient care activities in hospital and office settings following the Thanksgiving holiday. They must adhere to all hospital policies for the use of PPE, hand hygiene and physical distancing in patient care settings. Graduate students currently undertaking research in person are permitted to continue research in labs after the Thanksgiving holiday following guidance from the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research. Any graduate student continuing their research on-campus must have received prior approval to do so from the relevant academic dean, must adhere to the safety operating procedures the lab, and must be part of the person count for square footage, scheduling and any other relevant considerations.

Pre-departure testing for all students (medical, graduate and PA): The College will offer free of charge, voluntary on-site COVID testing to any student before leaving for Thanksgiving break. The testing is tentatively planned for Nov. 16-18 and will require an appointment. Scheduling for the testing is tentatively scheduled to begin on Friday, Nov. 6. This will be helpful to those students who are concerned about exposing their families to the virus when they travel over Thanksgiving.

In case you missed it

Click here to view last week’s Pandemic Response Email.

COVID-19 cases on campus

The table below summarizes the number of COVID-19 cases among our College of Medicine faculty, staff and students for this past week:

College of Medicine statistics

Week of Oct. 26-30

Notes

  • Current employees/students represents the number who have shown symptoms this week.
  • Total employees/students represents the number who have been quarantined or tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020 (for employees) or July 2020 (for students)

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