The Changing Pandemic Landscape; Input Requested About Face Mask Requirements

11/19/2021

February 21, 2022

Dear SLU community,

Today we write with hopeful news. The surge of Omicron cases is decreasing at a very rapid pace. Public health officials are beginning to review COVID-19 policies and loosen restrictions. 

For weeks now, there has been discussion among public health leaders about the transition from “pandemic response” to learning to live with COVID-19. For example, we as a nation have already begun moving away from efforts to prevent all disease transmission, and toward approaches that minimize disease transmission while protecting the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Here at SLU, our teams have begun conversations about what this might mean for our St. Louis campus community. This email includes essential context on our discussions and an opportunity to offer input, including: 

• Recent adjustments to campus COVID-19 management strategies;
• Potential updates to local face mask guidelines;
• Considering face masks in non-healthcare campus spaces;
• A survey that asks for your input on potential changes to face mask guidelines in non-healthcare campus spaces.

In addition, there is information about the final campus booster dose vaccine clinic before the February 28 deadline for non SLUCare faculty and staff to provide proof of receiving the booster dose.

Recent adjustments to campus COVID-19 management strategies

This semester, we have already lessened or stopped such public health measures as: 

• Isolation and quarantine periods  — cut down to 5 days in most cases. 
• Event restrictions  — internal events resumed February 1; external events (approved by the DER) will resume, beginning March 1.
• Prohibition of off-campus guests in campus residences — rescinded on February 14.
• University travel restrictions — requiring only unit leader approval since January 18.

In all of the above actions, we have assessed the data and consensus science, and consulted student, staff and faculty leaders. We have shown that we can implement and then lift or revise restrictions, based on changing circumstances. One of the biggest strengths we have gained from this pandemic is the ability to be nimble and adapt effectively to change.

Potential updates to local face mask guidelines

The current face mask mandate in the City of Saint Louis continues through March 6. City officials may decide to extend it or to let it expire. If they extend it, it may be limited to certain circumstances. 

We need to consider our options and our preferences now, while still protecting our most vulnerable students, staff and faculty, so that we can make thoughtful decisions about how we will move forward if City requirements change. We should note: University policy does not require that we drop our face mask mandate should the City do so — we can be more restrictive, if we choose.

Face masks in non-healthcare campus spaces

Since we returned to campus in fall 2020, face masks have been a critical component of our public health safeguards. We have prevented disease transmission in our classrooms, labs, and workspaces, and we have evidence that universal masking has played a key role. 

The questions now being raised are therefore challenging: When might we, at SLU, safely relax our face mask requirements in non-healthcare settings? In what non-healthcare campus spaces, and to what extent?

Some members of our community will be excited by the prospect of being in community with each other unmasked once again, while others will be deeply concerned. In the context of this range of reactions, we will do what we have always done: Use the best available science to understand the probable effects of different actions, gather input from affected community members, and identify the solution (or set of solutions) that will serve our community. 

If and when we do relax face mask requirements, the changes may be situational (e.g., masks required only in some settings/spaces), incremental (e.g., changes phased over time), and subject to change (e.g., in the case of a new variant or surge). As always, our face mask policy is likely to differentiate between our healthcare spaces (such as SLUCare) versus other parts of our St. Louis campuses. 

We welcome your thoughts

Please take a few minutes to complete this short anonymous survey which asks for your opinions about mask policy options that will be considered for our non-healthcare campus spaces as we move forward this spring.

Please know that the decision that is made will ultimately be based in consensus science and grounded in our values. By sharing your perspectives, you help us to understand the potential impact of different policy options on members of the University community. 

Your responses will be reviewed by an advisory group of campus stakeholders, which we are assembling now. This group will offer further input on different potential policy scenarios. We expect to write to the University with further updates as soon as we can.

One final note: There is one more campus vaccine clinic before the February 28 booster dose deadline for non-SLUCare employees. You can make an appointment on campus Tuesday, February 22, or find another location elsewhere in the community.

Stay safe and be well.

Terri Rebmann, Ph.D., RN, CIC, FAPIC
Special Assistant to the President
Director, Institute for Biosecurity
Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
College for Public Health & Social Justice