Fully vaccinated students will no longer be required to wear masks in classroom and lab settings beginning spring quarter. Students will be able to self-attest to their vaccination status as the university will not implement additional checks to determine which students should be wearing masks.
“All students will still be required to take part in the daily self-screener and obtain a campus pass,” university spokesperson Matt Lazier wrote in an email to Mustang News. “For unvaccinated or eligible-but-not-boosted students, this will include testing regularly in order to remain compliant.”
According to a campus-wide email from President Jeffrey Armstrong, all students and faculty are to follow previous guidance which requires masks in classrooms for the remainder of the winter quarter. Cal Poly has no plans to issue a testing requirement for fully vaccinated students upon return from spring break.
“Although the science suggests that it would be safe to lift the mandate in classrooms sooner, we recognize that changing the protocol mid-quarter may cause unnecessary disruption and confusion for some instructors and students,” Armstrong wrote in the email.
The email comes a week after Armstrong’s initial announcement that mask requirements would drop for fully vaccinated students in indoor spaces, including dining halls and the Recreation Center. This rule change went into effect immediately.
As COVID-19 rates continue their decline, both the state of California and San Luis Obispo County have lifted their indoor mask mandates on Feb. 16.
Armstrong said that with 94% of the student body vaccinated and a 90% booster rate, as well as frequent testing of unvaccinated individuals, local public health officials have deemed it safe to transition away from masking.