In an email sent on Monday, Sept. 13, the UM Board of Curators announced the extension of the temporary mask mandate in certain indoor areas, such as classrooms and in areas with signs displaying mask guidelines, on campus through Oct. 15.
According to MU safety recommendations, MU requires that, “all students, faculty, staff and visitors—regardless of vaccination status—are required to wear masks in classrooms, including while entering and exiting classrooms, as well as other meeting spaces where social distancing is not possible.”
MU extended the policy based on information that was provided to the board about what other universities’ policies are, including those with and without mask mandates, and their experiences with it.
Students are expected to follow the mask mandate guidelines. The MU Office of Student Accountability & Support states that if a student is in a classroom and they’re not masked, a faculty member can ask that individual to leave. If they refuse, then the faculty member can report the student to the student accountability office and they can also potentially cancel the class.
MU spokesperson Christian Basi spoke about the MU’s decision to extend the mask mandate.
“The board had a very robust discussion about the issue, and in the end, they decided to continue the current mask policy,” Basi said.
This announcement followed MU’s first mandate announcement on July 29, which stated that “this temporary requirement will be reviewed by Sept. 15,” and determined that masks must be worn in classrooms, as well as areas where social distancing is not possible.
“If you see an incident where you believe students are not acting in a safe manner, and they are violating a COVID-19 policy, you can go to renewal.missouri.edu; there’s an opportunity for you to report that incident,” Basi said.
MU Health Care, along with Boone Health, Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services and The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services suggests getting the COVID-19 vaccination in order to slow the spread of the illness. Students at MU are encouraged to call the Student Health Center to schedule an appointment. MU also hosts “a variety of special vaccination events for MU students, faculty, and staff,” according to emails sent to students and faculty.
According to the CDC, the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, for the general adult population, is 89% effective against the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and 96% effective against hospitalization.
The university strongly encourages everybody to get the vaccine on behalf of what the MU community can do to slow the spread.
“The best thing we can all do is to get the vaccine, mask where it is appropriate, keep each other safe and fight this pandemic as best as we can,” Basi said.
Edited by Namratha Prasad, nprasad@themaneater.com