Masks will be required indoors on all IU campuses for all students, staff, faculty and visitors effective Thursday, Aug. 5, according to an email from the university.
This announcement follows a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on July 27 that fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in areas with high transmission rates as COVID-19 cases in the United States continue to rise.
“We stress that wearing masks indoors is the only thing that is changing, though,” the email said.
According to the email, IU’s reported COVID-19 vaccination rate is approaching 85% of all constituents.
IU Spokesperson Chuck Carney previously told the IDS that IU would follow the recommendations of public health experts but hadn’t updated its mask policy immediately following the CDC’s recommendation.
IU’s change in masking policy follows a vote by Monroe County Board of Commissioners for masks to be worn in indoor public places regardless of vaccination status.
Monroe County is currently in the yellow advisory level for COVID-19, meaning there are more than 10 weekly cases per 100,000 residents.
A yellow advisory indicates moderate spread of the virus and local health officials are advised to consider restrictions on sizes of gatherings, restrictions on common areas in workplaces and reviewing plans for face coverings and social distancing for school extracurricular activities and assemblies.
IU will continue to monitor local health conditions and will make changes for individual campuses in line with local data for that campus, the email said.
