The following email was sent to Boise State faculty and staff last week.
Dear Faculty and Staff,
I am happy to share that thanks to your diligence and care for others, our campus COVID positivity rate and case counts have been steadily declining since mid-January. Last week, our positivity rate was 0% and only 7 new cases were reported by individuals who tested off-campus. This trend signifies a dramatically reduced presence of COVID within our campus community.
Last Friday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) updated their guidance on indoor masking, expanding the metrics used to measure community COVID levels. Guidelines regarding indoor masking are now tied to these new metrics, which categorize counties as low, medium or high. Because Ada County is still in the high category, indoor masking is still recommended.
The university has successfully responded to the pandemic because we have worked closely with our medical and public health advisors to ensure our COVID mitigation protocols are commensurate with campus and community infection rates. Though Ada County is still in the CDC’s “high” category, as cases continue to decline and the backlog of community cases is cleared, the county will drop to medium status. In medium status, indoor masking is recommended only for those with underlying health conditions. This, coupled with the university’s low case counts and positivity rates, supports a phased rollback of the campus mask requirement.
Therefore, effective Monday, March 7, masks will be optional in all university administrative, athletic and other event spaces, as well as in communal spaces including common areas, Albertsons Library, the Rec Center, the Student Union Building (SUB), and other campus buildings and residence halls.
Masks will still be required in instructional spaces (classrooms, studios, teaching labs and other spaces where instruction takes place); research labs; University Health and Counseling Services; the COVID Testing Center, Vaccine Clinic, and isolation hall; the Children’s Center; in areas where food is prepared, and on campus public transportation. There may also be indoor events or programs that require masking based on the event sponsor’s requirements.
Public Health will continue testing and contract tracing. They will also continue to actively monitor multiple data points and environmental factors, including campus and community positivity rates and case counts, wastewater viral loads, and other COVID indicators in hopes of further rolling back the mask requirement as quickly as conditions allow. If conditions continue to improve and we don’t experience a significant uptick in infection rates after March 7, we expect the instructional and research/teaching lab mask requirement to be lifted before the end of March.
Anyone with an underlying health condition who is concerned about the rollback should contact Human Resources (employees) or Public Health (students) for assistance as soon as possible, so that the concerns can be resolved before the anticipated end of the remaining mask requirement. For individuals who prefer to continue wearing a mask after the rollback, the university now has a large supply of KN95s, which when worn properly give the wearer significant protection from respiratory viruses. These masks are free and available for pick-up outside of the COVID Vaccine Clinic in the Campus School, in Human Resources, and at the Info Desk in the SUB.
We recognize that many people hold strong opinions about masking. Those who feel more comfortable wearing a mask in spaces where it is not required should do so, just as those who choose not to when it’s not required should do the same. We expect all members of our campus community to be respectful of others’ choices.
In the coming weeks, Public Health will be updating the university’s COVID Response site to reflect the changing conditions. In the interim, if you have questions relating to the university’s COVID response, please contact publichealth@boisestate.edu.
Thank you for your continued efforts to keep our campus healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Alicia Estey
Vice President for University Affairs and Chief of Staff