Updated PSOM guidelines

06/02/21

Dear All,

In follow-up to yesterday’s note from the University on Vaccination Status and Return to Campus, I write to clarify that the updated guidelines, as outlined by the City of Philadelphia, also apply to the Perelman School of Medicine, notably:

Physical distancing: labs can resume research operations at full capacity. It is now acceptable for multiple individuals to work in a lab bay at the same time, and adjacent technical desks can be occupied simultaneously. Classrooms and other University spaces will be used at 100 percent capacity. In-person lab meetings are now allowable.
Break room / indoor eating: we ask that you maintain a 3’ distance where possible when eating in the break room. Because masks will be off while eating, we recommend minimizing duration in the break areas.
Events with food: Indoor meetings should not include food at this time.
Masking: mask use is required for all building occupants while indoors, regardless of vaccination status.
Vaccination: the University announced that all current faculty, staff, and post-doctoral trainees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no later than August 1, 2021. COVID-19 vaccination status will be recorded securely and confidentially via Workday, with more information to come.
PennOpen Pass: Beginning July 1, use of PennOpen Pass will be required only for employees who have not reported their vaccine status. PennOpen Pass will support testing compliance and daily symptom checking for those individuals, but it will no longer be used to enter campus buildings.
- Until July 1, PennOpen Pass will continue to be used at our entrances at BRB, CRB, Johnson Pavilion, Richards, Smilow, and Stellar Chance.
COVID SAFE Testing: as the need for routine screening decreases, we plan to close our COVID SAFE surveillance testing sites on June 23, 2021. Effective July 1, individuals who have recorded being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in their Workday record will be exempt from regular Penn Cares screening testing.
High school and undergrad student researchers are allowed to work on campus this summer, and we ask that faculty consult with their departmental business administrator and loop in Human Resources so that all guidelines can be followed, such as background checks as applicable for having high school students on campus.

As our society and our University emerges from this most challenging time, we will never forget the last 15 months endured together. Thank you to this incredible community for your support, adaptability, innovation, and resilience.

All best,

Jon

Jon Epstein, MD | EVD/CSO

https://www.med.upenn.edu/evdresearch/