Penn State set to further relax COVID masking, testing policies. Here’s what to expect
With the continued decline of COVID-19 cases both locally and nationally, Penn State announced it will further relax its masking policies Wednesday and its testing policies Saturday.
Until then, the current policies will remain in place — meaning masks remain mandated in a few indoor settings such as classrooms, labs and creative spaces, and students without proof of vaccination must continue to undergo weekly testing. Come Wednesday, however, face masks will be optional in all indoor spaces except where required by law, like in certain health care and transportation settings. And, on Saturday, required weekly testing will be paused.
“With transmission levels low in much of the commonwealth and the high vaccination rates of our campus communities, we believe we can safely alter our masking and testing requirements at this time,” Penn State President Eric Barron said in a written statement. “We will continue to provide voluntary testing to students, as well as contact tracing and quarantine and isolation space as needed; and any individual who wishes to continue wearing a mask indoors is encouraged to do so.”
Centre County, home to Penn State’s flagship campus, is experiencing “low” COVID-19 Community Levels, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the most recent week of data, Centre County has added 85 COVID cases; by comparison, 30 of 31 days in January saw more than 100 daily cases.
Likewise, University Park has also seen a significant drop. From Jan. 17-23, the campus reached a peak of 631 weekly cases. From March 14-20, it stood at 18 weekly cases.
Penn State plans to pause its public COVID-19 dashboard, which reports weekly case totals, on April 7.
The university will continue to make student COVID testing available at University Park’s White Building “for the next few weeks.” For employees everywhere and students at other campuses, free Vault Health tests are no longer available. Students are instead instructed to see the student health center, which distributes tests, or check online, while employees should seek testing through their health care provider. University Park students showing symptoms should continue to contact University Health Services for testing.
According to the university, employees and faculty “may request” visitors wear masks in their offices or classrooms while students and community members are “asked” to cooperate respectfully. It wasn’t immediately known whether employees had any recourse if the request was not granted.
Once the new policies go into effect, face masks will continue to be required in health care facilities, on public transportation, and in transportation hubs such as airports and bus stations, as required by law. Penn State’s College of Medicine will also continue the mask mandate to support patient care.
Penn State cautioned that it could again change its masking and testing policies if cases rise again in the future. But the university will continue its wastewater surveillance locally, in addition to monitoring changing conditions and guidance.
Any future adjustments can be found at virusinfo.psu.edu.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
