SU will require masks regardless of vaccination status starting Tuesday

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Syracuse University will require masks indoors for the fall semester, Vice Chancellor Mike Haynie said in a news release Monday afternoon.

As a result of the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19, all students, faculty, staff and visitors, regardless of whether they have received a WHO-approved COVID-19 vaccine, must wear a mask in university buildings. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people in areas with at least a “substantial” transmission rate wear masks indoors, whether or not those people are vaccinated or not.

Onondaga County has been added to the list of counties with “substantial” COVID-19 transmission rates, the CDC revealed.

In May, the CDC announced that fully vaccinated people did not need to wear masks in most settings, including indoors. SU adopted this policy on May 24 as part of a phased reduction in COVID-19 protocols on campus.

But under SU’s latest policy, this decision would be reversed, mandating members of the campus community wear masks indoors while on campus. Students are required to wear masks in fitness facilities and dining halls, according to the news release.

SU’s decision follows that of other institutions in central New York. Ithaca College and Cornell University both announced that students must wear masks indoors this fall.

In April, SU announced that all students, faculty and staff who access campus must be vaccinated prior to the fall 2021 semester. While medical and religious exemptions will be accomodated, the “vast majority” of the campus community will be vaccinated, Chancellor Kent Syverud said. 

At the time, Syverud expressed confidence that SU could plan for “more normal” operations in the fall despite the unpredictability of COVID-19.

SU reinstated its indoor mask mandate as a temporary measure to prevent transmission, Haynie said.

“We will continue to monitor pandemic conditions and modify or eliminate the indoor mask-wearing request as soon as appropriate,” Haynie said. “Please note, all university operations will continue as usual.”