Mandates go into effect for the fall semester.
QUICK FACTS:
- Georgetown University is again requiring masks for the fall semester, citing COVID-19 and the recent outbreak of monkeypox.
- Students will be forced to wear face coverings to attend class, participate in labs, and use university-sponsored transportation and health facilities.
- Georgetown’s Dr. Ranit Mishori made the announcement saying the mandate is part of the school’s “layered approach” to “protecting health and safety.”
- The doctor also cited the ongoing monkeypox outbreak while announcing the mandate, which will apply even in cases where professors have received COVID vaccinations.
MASK ANNOUNCEMENT:
- “On August 4, 2022, the United States declared monkeypox a public health emergency. The virus primarily spreads between people through close contact,” the monkeypox portion of Georgetown’s mask mandate announcement reads.
- “According to the CDC, it can also be transmitted via respiratory secretion during prolonged, face-to-face contact,” the announcement went on to say, seeming to link the monkeypox virus with the latest mask mandate.
BACKGROUND:
- Other universities including Rice University, Columbia University, Johns Hopkins University, and American University have all re-implemented facial coverings.
- The nearby George Washington University in the District of Columbia never ended its mask mandates and has announced it will continue into the 2022-2023 school year.
