EU drops mask mandate starting March 19

The Elmhurst University COVID-19 Task Force announced via email on March 7 the school mask mandate will end on March 19.

“From the beginning, we have said our approaches will be informed by governmental and public health guidelines and measures supported by science,” said the email. “In that same spirit, we are announcing that our campus-wide indoor mask mandate will be lifted effective March 19, 2022.”

The email did not specify why or how this decision was made.

EU will still continue to encourage mask wearing. On campus PCR and rapid tests will still be available.

“We will continue to monitor governmental and public health guidelines, along with current messages from the scientific community,” said the email. “If there is a shift in COVID-19 indicators that requires action, our campus community should remain prepared to re-implement mitigation strategies to reduce the potential for transmission.”

This decision comes weeks after the COVID-19 Task Force sent out an email stating that the mask mandate would be in effect until at least spring break, but there was no confirmation on the state of the mandate after spring break