My D20’s school, which has been VERY conservative in their approach to Covid (fully online last year, vax required/twice weekly testing + masks everywhere this year) has lifted their mask requirement everywhere except health care settings and athletic shuttle busses, effective upon their return from spring break on 3/14. I was surprised, but not disappointed. Her school has a 98% vax rate.
The university I work for has lifted the requirement everywhere except for classrooms. Our student vax rate in around 82%, I believe. The rationale for that is that there are students who registered for classes with the mask requirement in place and it would be unfair to change that mid-course.
My personal feeling is that the N95s are effective enough at protecting the wearer that I don’t think it is necessary to require masking of all, but I also think six more weeks in a mask isn’t going to harm anyone.
I suspect faculty are one of the driving factors, esp immuno compromised fac or those with other significant health issues. I have to wear a mask at work in meetings and am happy to do so. It’s not all day so doesn’t feel oppressive. And I agree that a lot of schools are probably thinking they don’t have much longer till summer so why take any risks.
I’ve got one kid at a school where masks are now optional everywhere. One where masks are still required everywhere. And a younger child in middle school who still has to wear a mask all day even outside (and this outside rule is the one I’m truly irritated by).
This has already gotten into “individual beliefs” for lack of the political word.
I keep reading there is no science behind mask wearing (so not correct) and that the pandemic is over and we are in an endemic. I’m not a scientist to really understand the terms but.
In the beginning, our school district put into place something like if positive tests were 5% or more, they needed mask. Of course, then the folks who hated masks on their kids came out.
In TN, where they now report weekly to take focus off, we were 11% last week. Yes down from 40% - but we still have far more cases at last count- volume and positive test wise than two years ago. Of course we long ago ditched masks regardless.
So I suspect UMD (and others who still have this mindset) are simply saying - the wave is going down but we don’t want to have a rise on our campus and have to shut down - because no one know if another spike or wave is imminent.
btw - it’s not gone - look at Hong Kong which is reeling.
Not saying it’s right or wrong to have masks. I travel and where a KN95 everywhere. Even the grocery store. That’s my choice - I don’t see the issue.
I’m also not condemning places that have removed the mandate although my personal thought is it’s too early.
I just think, especially with an election coming up, the incumbent politicians have been playing from behind - and it’s time to try and secure re-election and they are pacifying the masses - or vocal minority - not sure which it is but it’s one of them.
My D has an immune compromised professor and he got permission to keep his class online this semester. My understanding was that anyone could petition to do that if they weren’t comfortable being in person. Our email from Purdue said faculty were included in the decision making, and I know they sent a survey out to students to ask for their input as well.
This was an option for at high risk professors even when masks were still required.
It’s only one class out of 6 for my D and she said he’s been teaching on line since Covid started and has it down to a science. She’s been enjoying the class and getting a lot out of it.
Endemic means that the disease is commonly found in the population. Examples include common colds, malaria in tropical places, and smallpox before there were vaccines against it.
Another public university, Coppin State in Baltimore, has dropped all mask mandates.
I don’t see any public health logic in UMD’s Dr. Pines’s position.
Yes, at UMD Dr. Pines’ directive regarding masks in classrooms seems out of place at this point. Prince George’s (county where UMD resides) has a positivity rate of 1.43%, lower than Maryland’s 1.61%. 82% of adults in the county are fully vaccinated. 98.3% of the universities population (students, staff, professors) are fully vaccinated AND boosted. Masks are optional at UMD in so many other places.
Local (county and state) mask restrictions have been removed. Prince Georges county removed it’s indoor mask mandate on February 28th. That mask mandate was a driving factor for UMD implementing it’s mask mandate. With it removed and the community metrics where they are it’s just baffling that the mask mandate continues in classrooms.
Professors are currently allowed to remove their masks in classrooms. Professors are able to socially distance in classrooms. Everyone would be able to continue to wear quality masks if they desired.
Students are everywhere else interacting without masks if they so choose. Covid numbers are very low at UMD and still falling. I’m not sure why now wouldn’t be the right time to make masking optional.
Columbia University had established certain criteria that control their response.
Consistent with those criteria, they have now reached the “green” (low risk) level:
vaccination coverage (primary series) > 95%, and
vaccination booster coverage: > 80%, and
Low risk COVID-19 community level in NYC, per CDC classification, and
PCR positivity on campus random surveillance < 2%.
With the final factor (NYC community level) having met the milestone, they are relaxing much of the previous restrictions/mandates:
Weekly mandatory testing of unvaccinated affiliates to continue
Random sampling of all vaccinated affiliates to continue
Wastewater surveillance, targeted testing if spike detected
No masking/distancing (Individuals who prefer to mask are encouraged to do so)
Thank you for that explanation. In MD, as of
Under the emergency regulation, {which ended on March 1, }
local school systems were allowed to lift masking rules only if they meet at least one of three conditions: if 80% of staff and students are fully vaccinated, if 80% of the full county population is fully vaccinated or if a county’s COVID-19 transmission rates are low or moderate for 14 consecutive days, as reported by the CDC.“
Anyhow, I will look at some of these items you listed for Columbia and see how UMD compares. Thank you for posting it.
Pitt has announced that effective Monday March 28, masks will only be required in healthcare settings and on school shuttles buses. They will no longer be required in classrooms, the library, or any other indoor setting.
What is interesting is that RIT is still requiring in the classrooms during class, but not in the hallways. The reason being is that immune compromised students have to be in class for a certain period of time, so they want to protect those students in that situation.
Amherst College lifting mask mandate everywhere except classrooms, dining hall/cafe entrances and lines, and help desks. Reducing testing to once per week.
Harvard also this week lowered their testing from 3x/week to 1x/week. Mask requirements dropped pretty much everywhere but bus shuttles (I think individual professors are allowed to ask for masks, but that seems not to be happening much), I believe. Interestingly, for the undergrads, they had a big spike about a month ago, and cases then came down dramatically, even in the week after spring break. But I do think the philosophy has switched over to being concerned about severity (as the fact that there have been no hospitalizations or serious cases among students/staff/faculty was referenced in some of the announcements), so I think vacillations in number of infections will likely no longer be the sole driver of mitigation efforts.
the whole thing is rediculous. Classrooms maybe because immune compromised kids need to go to class, but otherwise, at what point do we treat this like all the other stuff that goes around college campuses, since everyone is vaccinated/boosted. I have not heard from that DC superspreader event or anyone else from DC elite who has gotten Covid, having more than mild symptoms. The students are not happy if you look at the Reddit and its a bad look for accepted students as well that they yoyo like this. The school has not handled Covid very well, being overly conservative. All of 2020/2021 they were remote. the kids get tested multiple times a week, even with boosters. I am sure there are those that think college students should be masked up still, but at this point, if everyone is vaccinated, why?