A college in Georgia has ended its mask mandate that was prompted by reports of positive COVID-19 cases among students, officials confirmed to Newsweek.
Morris Brown College in Atlanta sparked a backlash after announcing in August that it had reinstated its ruling that required masks to be worn on college property.
All students and employees would be required to wear face masks for 14 days from August 20, college president Dr. Kevin James wrote in a letter that was posted on the institution’s Instagram page.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
The mask mandate was scheduled to end on Sunday, James confirmed to Newsweek in an email. However, the college will “still have several safety protocols in place,” he said.
Parties and large student events would be banned from campus during the 2-week period, James said in the letter announcing the end of the mask ruling.
Students and employees are also obligated to undergo temperature checks on arrival at the campus and maintain physical distancing, the letter said. Those who test positive for COVID-19 must isolate for five days and undergo contact tracing.
It was not immediately clear which of the protocols outlined in the letter remained in place.
The college is not the only place where mask mandates have returned in recent weeks, as some schools, hospitals and businesses have reinstated mask requirements in response to rising COVID-19 cases.
Such mandates have prompted a “we will not comply” movement by people fearing the return of widespread restrictions.
“Americans have had enough COVID hysteria. WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, alongside an article about Morris Brown College reinstating its mask mandate for two weeks.
The World Health Organization classed a new COIVD-19 variant—EG.5—as a “variant of interest” in August, but said its risk to global public health is low. Another variant, BA.2.86., has also recently emerged and as of August 23 had been reported in the U.S., U.K., Denmark, South Africa and Israel.
While pandemic-era requirements like masking are polarizing, some scientists are advising people to wear masks again during periods of high transmission.
“Masks are more important when a highly immune-evasive variant emerges—that is, a variant that is not well matched to existing vaccines,” epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre, a professor of global biosecurity at the Kirby Institute at University of New South Wales, Australia, recently told Newsweek.
“COVID remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and has caused a drop in life expectancy in the U.S.”
Comments are closed.