The University removed its mask mandates for non-academic and non-research settings at the end of last week. PHOTO CREDIT: www.lexingtonky.gov
On March 2, the University of Rhode Island announced that it would be loosening its mask mandate policies starting on March 4, in accordance with the CDC and Rhode Island state guidelines.
The new mandate states that masks are “no longer require community members to wear masks indoors on campus except for those spaces where direct academic instruction and research are taking place.”
Ellen Reynolds, assistant vice president for Student Health and Wellness and director of Health Services, defined what this means.
“What that meant to us when we wrote it was [that] except if you’re in a class you can be mask-free,” Reynolds said. “In the Memorial Union, in the library, in the residence halls and the dining facilities and administrative buildings, you don’t need to mask. It’s masking optional.”
This decision comes from the University after the state-wide mask was removed on Feb. 11 for all businesses and the mask mandates in K-12 schools in that state were removed on March 4.
According to Reynolds, one of the reasons the mask mandates were loosened at URI was because it was getting harder to enforce them because of the state rules changing, as well as the fact that over 90 percent of the student body is fully vaccinated.
“[The CDC] did a map and they looked at the country and they put us into different categories based on a number of many variables,” she said. “Rhode Island is green, which means we’re really low, not low transmission, but low likelihood of having any [need] to deliver health care resources and other services, so that helped us make our decision.”
This decision also comes with the end of winter and flu season. According to Reynolds, warmer weather can be helpful in reducing the spread of illness, allowing for less strict rules. However, she said that Health Services is aware that there are community members that are at risk of contracting the virus or giving the virus to people in their immediate circle.
She enforces the idea of “optional masking”, meaning that if community members still feel the need to wear a mask because of their personal situations, they should.
“One-way masking is effective,” said Reynolds. “We’ve seen it. We’ve seen people not have flu seasons for almost two years and other viral illnesses.”
Reynolds said her goal is to have the University go from universal masking to optional masking rules. She says that at this point, it is a decision each individual must make for themselves based on how comfortable they are.
Both Reynolds and Dave Lavallee, assistant director of External Relations and Communication, agree that getting fully vaccinated is still a crucial part in keeping the community safe.
“Vaccination is still the best way to prevent serious disease and hospitalization,” said Lavallee. “And it does help mitigate the spread. It doesn’t completely eliminate it, but it does help. So if you’re not vaccinated, that’s still a very good thing to do.”
According to Reynolds and Lavallee, they hope to see the University transfer into an “end-demic” state in the near future, and for things to go back to almost completely how they were prior to March 2020.