At college and university campuses across the country, COVID-19 protocols continue to evolve. As the spring semester winds down, institutions are tightening requirements to stem the spread of the virus.
Many institutions are returning to mask mandates and have reinstituted other measures for the remainder of the school year and into summer programs after infection rate spikes. Other schools, however, are easing up on restrictions. It all hinges on the number and severity of cases in the general community and the spread of the BA.2 variant in each specific area as well as on campus.
Predicting how the virus and its variants will spread and aligning campus COVID policies and measures to current and anticipated infection flares is difficult, at best. Campuses are approaching the challenge in both a reactive and proactive manner. However, an unpredictable new or emerging variant can throw institutions into a tailspin, and administrators have been forced to respond quickly to new developments. At this point, most colleges and universities are still undecided on their COVID policies for fall semester.
Howard University transitioned to fully remote teaching and learning after Spring break in March, after a rise in confirmed COVID cases in Washington, D.C. Other schools are taking less dramatic moves, but still returning to prior mandates. As infection rates dwindled at Williams College in early April, the school did away with its mask mandate and enabled professors to decide if they wanted to require masks in the classroom. Days later, cases started rising and the school reverted to mandating masks and outlines new and stronger guidelines throughout campus.
Columbia University downgraded its COVID-19 risk level and eased up on mask wearing in mid-March, but then due to an uptick in COVID cases in New York City over the past few weeks, the school adjusted its alert level to “yellow” and again is requiring non-cloth masks in instructional space for Summer sessions. Simmons College reinstated its indoor mask requirement on May 13, and encourages students to wear N95 or KN95 masks in all public places and at all events.
Yet in some areas, colleges and universities are phasing out restrictions. On May 10, Boston University announced that it will discontinue asymptomatic COVID-19 testing after May 23 and easing up on other measures. The university’s Chief Health Officer and Executive Director of Student Health Services, Judy Platt, MD, sent out a memo at the end of April outlining the end of mask mandates in classrooms, discontinuing isolation housing and on-campus isolation facility on June 1, 2022 and a continuation of the vaccination and booster requirement.