Idaho universities begin to phase out COVID mask requirements. What students should know
Universities across Idaho are starting to ease their mask policies as COVID-19 cases decline across the state.
The changes come after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week updated its guidelines for determining COVID-19 community levels. The new guidelines show masks might not be needed in some areas of the state.
According to the updated guidance, Southwest Idaho, including Ada and Canyon counties, remains at high risk, so masks are still recommended for people indoors. Southeast Idaho and parts of North Idaho are at a medium-risk level, and parts of Central Idaho are in the low-risk category.
Boise State University
Boise State University, which is currently in an area of high risk, is partially lifting its mask mandate March 7. The change will make masks optional in university administrative, athletic and other event spaces, in addition to communal spaces — such as common areas, Albertsons Library, the Rec Center, the Student Union Building, and residence halls. Masks will still be required in instructional areas, including classrooms and teaching labs.
The university has experienced a decline in positive cases in recent weeks. During the week of Feb. 17, the university reported 44 positive cases, down from more than 300 reported during two weeks in January.
In an email sent to the campus community, Alicia Estey, vice president for university affairs and chief of staff, said that although the county remains in the high-risk category based on CDC’s standards, the risk will drop as cases continue to decline
“This, coupled with the university’s low case counts and positivity rates, supports a phased rollback of the campus mask requirement,” the email said.
Officials will continue to monitor positivity rates and case counts to see when the university may be able to further roll back its mandate in other campus buildings.
“If conditions continue to improve and we don’t experience a significant uptick in infection rates after March 7, we expect the instructional and research/teaching lab mask requirement to be lifted before the end of March,” the email said.
Idaho State University
At Idaho State University, masks for students became optional starting Wednesday at campus locations and outreach centers in counties with low or medium levels of COVID-19 in the community, according to the CDC’s guidelines. That includes the Pocatello and Idaho Falls campuses, where masks won’t be required in classrooms, labs, event spaces, or other indoor areas, according to an email to students.
But the campuses in Twin Falls and Ada counties will continue to require masks indoors until conditions improve.
The university said it will continue to be flexible and try to offer students alternatives if they don’t feel comfortable attending classes in person.
University of Idaho
The University of Idaho moved to make masks optional in labs, meeting rooms, hallways or other areas of the university Tuesday this week in Moscow and Coeur d’Alene. In an email to the campus community, President Scott Green and Provost and Executive Vice Presiden Torrey Lawrence said instructors could still require masks in their classrooms “unless directed otherwise.”
According to the email, the university could reinstate the mandate if conditions get worse.
“A dramatic decline in COVID-19 cases across the state, as well as easy access to vaccinations and KN95 masks, allows us to move to a personal approach to COVID-19 protocols,” the email said. “If positive cases dramatically increase or if a new variant threatens our local hospital capacity, we will move swiftly to reinstate a mask requirement.”
