ASU, UA going to require masks in some settings
(The Center Square) – Arizona State University announced this week that they will require students to wear masks in classrooms and other places where students are not able to physically distance when the fall semester commences next week.
Face coverings are mandatory “in certain indoor settings,” including all classrooms, meeting rooms, clinical programs, and teaching or research labs.
Crowded outdoor settings will also be mask-mandatory, the school announced Wednesday.
“As previously stated, the university continues to recommend strongly that people get vaccinated and ASU continues to provide COVID-19 vaccines free of charge to students, faculty and staff,” officials wrote. “Greater rates of vaccination are the best tool available to reduce the rate of transmission in the community, which could change the applicable face covering guidance.”
State law prohibits mask and vaccination mandates in schools but several local districts have flouted that law and mandated them anyway.
On June 15, ASU President Michael Crow said that the school would comply with Ducey’s Executive Order regarding vaccine requirements for students. On July 30, ASU officials updated their rule on masks due to new Center for Disease Control and Prevention data on the COVID-19 delta variant, saying that the university was “strongly recommending” that all 75,000 students, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks inside.
The University of Arizona followed suit Thursday, saying they would mandate masks in indoor situations where distancing cannot be kept.
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