Media Requests Related to COVID-19
Response to Media Request for Campus Community COVID-19 Data
It is the goal of Lincoln University of the Commonwealth of System of Higher Education to have students continue their education during the 2020-21 academic year and beyond. All students have been given the option to complete their education experience on a fully remote schedule if they choose. At Lincoln University, we value the medical privacy rights of our students, faculty, staff and other members of the University community. This is not changed by the current COVID-19 pandemic. The University will not be responding to outside media demands for information relating to any COVID-19 testing or medical conditions of members of the University community. To the extent that the University determines that at any point it is appropriate to publicly provide information to the media regarding COVID-19 testing or cases, if any, it will, to the extent permitted by law, issue an appropriate press release with de-identified aggregate information through the Office of the President of the University. In order to lessen the possibility of any accidental misinformation or the release of any private medical information regarding members of the University community, the Office of the President will be the sole source of any such release of information to the media. The University, of course, will to the extent appropriate and permitted by law, provide proper information to governmental agencies and healthcare providers. (Please note that the University as a state-related, as opposed to state-owned, institution is not required to respond to “Right to Know Law” information requests.)
The University is committed to stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A COVID-19 Incident Task Force has been established to manage the impacts of the pandemic on the University community and to implement related protocols. As part of the University’s plan to re-open its campuses, all University students and employees returning to campus must complete the COVID-19 Test registration prior to arrival or in-person on their personal mobile device. Information regarding the University’s re-opening plan can be found here: https://www.lincoln.edu/reopening-plan.
The University has outlined safety measures guided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Some of the measures include staggered arrivals and departures, practicing social distancing, wearing masks when one cannot effectively practice social distancing (i.e., maintaining six (6) feet distance between other individuals), requiring students and employees to take daily temperature checks and report elevated temperature readings to Health Services and isolation and quarantine procedures if individuals become ill or are exposed, respectively.
Lincoln University complies with all county, state and federal reporting guidelines. For information related to reporting or data collection in our area, interested persons may wish to contact the Health Department of Chester County or visit https://www.chesco.org/4376/Coronavirus-COVID-19.