Visitors to the University of Wyoming campus and other UW-owned facilities are required to wear face coverings, the university’s Board of Trustees decided last week.
On July 16, the board …
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Visitors to the University of Wyoming campus and other UW-owned facilities are required to wear face coverings, the university’s Board of Trustees decided last week.
On July 16, the board approved the requirement as an adjustment to the university’s plan for the fall semester to mitigate spread of COVID-19. UW employees and students already are required to wear face coverings while on UW-owned property or when conducting university business or activities, including instruction and research.
“We appreciate the board’s support of taking another step to create as safe an environment as possible for our students, employees, visitors and surrounding communities,” said UW President Ed Seidel. “It has been well documented that wearing of masks and other practices help lower the risk of transmitting the virus to others and also may provide some degree of protection to ourselves, as well.”
One exception to the policy on face coverings is that people alone in closed-door offices — or in their residence hall rooms — don’t have to wear them at those times.
UW is planning a resumption of in-person educational experiences for the fall semester, with classes beginning Aug. 24. The university has nearly completed development of a COVID-19 policy that will outline the rule on face coverings as well as other guidelines, including physical distancing and what to do if you develop symptoms that might indicate coronavirus infection. Consequences for violation of the policy include disciplinary action through the Student Code of Conduct, for students, and the employee handbook, for faculty and staff members. Visitors who refuse to comply with the rule on face coverings could be ordered off of campus.
All UW students and employees will be required to take an at-home saliva test for COVID-19 before returning to campus in August, and employees of the university’s public-facing units that have opened this summer have been tested as well. Additionally, all 288 UW student-athletes who have returned to campus this summer have received nasal-swab tests, with all testing negative for the virus.