Ohio U makes masks optional on Athens campus in accordance with CDC

Ohio University announced Thursday that mask requirements would again be relaxed in accordance with CDC guidelines, according to a press release by Ohio U health officials. 

The Athens campus of Ohio U will not require masks in any setting due to low coronavirus transmission, wrote Ken Johnson, dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and chief medical affairs officer, and Gillian Ice, special assistant for public health operations, in the release.  

The release explained that mask requirements will be dependent on the level of COVID-19 transmission in the county. If there is a high level of transmission, masks will be required in all indoor public spaces. If the transmission level is medium, masks will be required in some indoor settings such as classrooms. If the transmission level is low, masks will be optional in all campus spaces. 

All Ohio U branches except the Chillicothe and Southern campuses currently have low transmission rates and an optional mask requirement. Chillicothe and Southern have medium transmission rates. 

Ohio U will update the transmission levels for each county and the mask requirements every Friday on the Ohio U “Be Safe Bobcats” COVID-19 website, according to the release.

On March 1, Ohio U relaxed the requirement to only mandate masks in some instances, such as in the classroom. 

“This phased approach was intentional as we anticipated that many members of our community would be traveling for spring break and to ensure that our case count remained low when everyone returned to campus,” the release read.