UAA drops masking requirements

On March 3, UAA Chancellor Sean Parnell sent out an email announcing the end to UAA’s requirement that everyone on campus wears a facemask. The policy change took place over spring break, starting on March 7.

UAA director of safety, Tim Edwards, sent an email on March 14 with details on the changes to masking, reporting sickness, isolation and quarantine. In the communication he wrote, “Masks are now optional inside all UAA facilities at all UAA campuses,” though everyone must continue to wear masks in the Student Health and Counseling Center and inside the Sports Medicine Room in the Alaska Airlines Center.

Individuals who are up to date with their vaccines, or who have been infected in the past 90 days, do not need to quarantine after close contact with someone who has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. For those exposed, the university says to wear a mask when around others following the ten days after exposure and be tested after five days.

The university is still having anyone who tests positive for the virus, or has a suspected case, stay home and isolate for five days, regardless of their vaccination status.

UAA is no longer requiring anyone who tests positive to report to the university.

More details can be found regarding UAA’s new policy at https://sites.google.com/alaska.edu/coronavirus/uaa.

The update comes in response to changes made in the CDC’s recommended guidelines of when masks should be worn. The CDC issued new guidance on Feb 25 that did away from the original criteria, which solely relied on infection rates of the COVID-19 virus, to one that takes into account hospitalizations in addition to the infection rate.

The new metrics have three levels: low, medium and high. Only under the high level does the CDC recommend everyone wear a mask. According to the CDC’s website, the Anchorage area, at the time of writing, is at a community level of low.

The change was made because the risk of severe disease is lower due to increased immunity from vaccines or prior infection, better testing and new treatments, according to an article by NBC news.

Students coming back from spring break experienced the first day of instruction with the new policy on Monday, March 14. Talking with staff and students on campus the day back, there were a number of opinions regarding the change.

Some took it positively, saying that it was nice for the matter to be a personal choice, and people could mask up, or not, depending on their situation and comfort level. Others expressed concern that we were simply repeating the mistakes made last year, and this could again lead to more restrictions.

A few said they didn’t have strong opinions on the subject and were okay wearing a mask, or not. One student said it was “sweet” not having to wear it anymore, but she did feel pressure to put one on when entering her first class.

Several staff and students enthusiastically expressed their views on the change, with one saying, “glad it’s gone, good riddance,” and another “I love it.” Some students taking a class in the auto diesel building remarked that removing the masks is nice because it was difficult to breathe while working. A dance minor said the same thing regarding dancing, and a professor for the culinary arts program shared this sentiment, saying that the students had been working with masks on, in-person, since 2020.

One woman said she herself was immunocompromised, and for that reason, would still be masking. A few students said it was nice to be able to put on a mask if sick to help protect others. Some interviewed said they would continue to mask, and left it at that.

While employees of UAA and students have the option to remove facemasks, some who work on campus do not. Employees of Subway, Kaladi Brothers and the janitorial services are employed by third parties and still must abide by their own company policies, which may require them to wear masks.

From talking with students and observing people on campus, it looks like the number of people choosing to go maskless, at the moment, is about half. A student said, regarding people who choose to remain masked up, “everyone has a reason, like an older person at home,” and went on to add that they might have other health issues too.

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