Friday, August 6, 2021
Education / Health
UVM Reinstates Its Indoor Mask Mandate
click to enlarge - File: James Buck
- The University of Vermont campus
In light of a regional and national spike in COVID-19 cases due to the Delta variant, the University of Vermont reinstated its mask mandate on Friday, requiring that all students, faculty, staff and visitors wear face coverings while indoors on campus.
“We will continue to monitor the rate of COVID-19 cases on campus, in Vermont, and across the region and will adjust this requirement if conditions warrant,” provost Patricia Prelock and vice president for operations and public safety Gary Derr wrote in an email to the UVM community.
In July, UVM announced that it would require all students to submit proof of vaccination or an approved medical or religious exemption before returning to campus this fall. As of Friday, more than 90 percent of UVM students had been vaccinated, according to spokesperson Joshua Brown.
Earlier this week,
Dartmouth College renewed its indoor mask mandate amid rising COVID-19 case counts. On Wednesday, the college reported 10 active cases among students, faculty and staff,
nine of which emerged within a 24-hour period. Both Grafton County, N.H., where Dartmouth is located, and Chittenden County have crossed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's threshold for "substantial" transmission of COVID-19, placing both regions under CDC guidance to mask up in indoor public spaces.
Tags: University of Vermont, COVID-19, masks, college, Web Only, Image
About The Author
Chelsea Edgar
Bio:
Chelsea Edgar is a staff writer for Seven Days, and has written for BuzzFeed and Philadelphia magazine.
About the Artist
James Buck
Bio:
James Buck is a multimedia journalist for Seven Days.