Dear Students, Families, Faculty and Staff:
Late yesterday, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced a notable increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the community. Although the prevalence of new cases on campus remains low, SUNY ESF is taking the precautionary action to elevate our campus masking requirement to level RED. This aligns with the announcement that Syracuse University made today.
What this means to you:
Effective 5 p.m. today, the following masking policy applies on the ESF campus:
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Masks Required: All students, faculty, staff and visitors (vaccinated and vaccine-exempt) accessing campus must wear masks indoors at all times and outdoors when in the presence of others. Faculty must also wear masks during lectures.
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Masks Not Required: The following masking exceptions are permitted for students, faculty and staff only:
- Students while in their own residence hall room
- Vaccinated employees while alone in private offices, personal workstations or when working independently outdoors on campus
- When actively eating or drinking
Reminder: All individuals—regardless of vaccination status and/or campus alert level—are required by New York State law to wear a mask on public transit and when visiting any healthcare facility.
Why is the masking level changing?
Onondaga County reported an increase in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the community that represents a notable departure from prior trends. While our data does not currently suggest a similar increase in new cases on campus, key to our health and safety decision-making is to acknowledge that we are a college closely connected to our community. Given that, ESF has determined that requiring indoor masking at this time, regardless of vaccination status, is an appropriate response to maintain the health and safety of our campus community.
ESF’s COVID Masking Framework enables us to respond to the evolving public health landscape in a dynamic and measured way. Today’s action is consistent with that intent and is specific to on-campus masking policy only. ESF, in frequent contact with relevant staff at SU and SUNY officials who are in communication with health officials, will continue daily monitoring of COVID data on campus and in the community, and make recommendations related to future adjustments to our campus masking policy as dictated by data and science.
Thank you.
Office of Communications and Marketing
