SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Students and staff members at Sacramento State University will still be required to wear face coverings while on campus, according to the university's president. The move comes despite the state's indoor mask mandate expiring.
"We've only been back on campus for one week, to suddenly make a change like this after one week. That's abrupt," said university president Robert Nelsen.
According to a letter issued Tuesday by Nelsen, during the next two weeks, the school's COVID-19 task force will consult with local public health officials to make a plan to lift face-covering requirements for those who are fully vaccinated.
"I know that some people are tired of wearing face coverings and that many others are not yet ready to be in public settings without one," Nelsen wrote in the letter. "As always, we will consider multiple factors in our planning, including the percentage of individuals on campus who are fully vaccinated (including a booster), campus case rates, and recommendations of public health officials such as face-covering requirements for K-12 schools."
He told ABC10 that this was a decision made with input from both faculty and students. He added that some faculty members didn't feel comfortable changing the mandate.
As the mandate continues, the university will be looking toward increasing the number of people on campus with booster shots. The university has a Feb. 28 deadline for the booster. Nelsen said the university's 96% vaccination rate for faculty and 94% vaccination rate for students doesn't account for booster shots. He estimates that the current number of boosted persons on campus is around 45%.
Face coverings are required in all indoor public spaces including classrooms, hallways, offices, workout and practice areas, restrooms, computer labs, study areas and athletic facilities.
Weekly testing for faculty, staff, and students who are not fully vaccinated is still mandated by the university.
"There's no doubt that there will be students who they're tired of masks -- I'm tired of masks. I'm tired of meeting with masks. So there'll be some mixed feelings, but I think everyone knows that we're trying to keep everyone safe, and that's the key," Nelsen said.
In order for the masks to come off on campus, Nelsen said the university will have to see booster shots increase and case numbers.
"I don't know whether it will change in two weeks. What we said is by two weeks, we will have a plan so that we can change and take off the masks. They eventually have to come off," he said.
California's indoor mask mandate for vaccinated people is expected to expire Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. Officials in Sacramento County say their mandate will follow the state's lead by expiring Wednesday as well.
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