Dear Members of the Campus Community,
We have good news. Due to the great work of our campus community in keeping the safety and well-being of each other at the forefront of our actions, we have been able to maintain an excellent campus vaccination rate, effective ongoing testing to monitor the risk of transmission, and low campus case counts.
Beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, April 5, Puget Sound will become a mask optional campus. This decision follows CDC and state health department guidelines and Governor Inslee’s end to the indoor mask mandate in Washington. The following updates to our COVID-19 campus safety protocols will take effect through the end of the spring semester:
We will no longer require masks in indoor public spaces on campus.
- We highly recommend that anyone with approved vaccine and/or booster exemptions continue to wear masks in all indoor public spaces, but are no longer required to do so.
- Though masks are no longer required in indoor spaces on campus, campus members may discuss and reach mutual agreement to wear masks in certain classes, studios, labs and work areas. (Note that masks are still required in health care settings on campus.)
- Members of our community who wish to continue wearing masks are encouraged to do so. Proper masking is an effective way to minimize the risk of transmission for those in our community who are vulnerable or live with people vulnerable to severe illness, and we will continue to provide KN95, N95, or surgical/medical masks to any campus member who wants them through the spring semester.
- We will continue our weekly randomized asymptomatic testing of 10% of the campus community to monitor the risk of campus transmission. Weekly testing requirements for all campus members with approved vaccine exemptions remain in place.
- We highly encourage you to receive the second booster shot when you are eligible.
While we hope that these steps will be part of the transition to a post-COVID world, each person should consider their own risk factors when making individual health choices, and individual choices must be balanced with best practices for public health.
We will continue to closely monitor COVID-19 case counts on campus and in our local community and are prepared to adjust our mitigation protocols if needed, which may include resuming the mask requirement. Above all, we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.
Thank you for your perseverance and continued commitment to the safety of our community.
Sincerely,
Isiaah
Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President