Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia has decided to conclude its two-week mask directive after facing significant public resistance.
The college had initially instituted the mask requirement in response to COVID-19 cases detected among students, Newsweek reports.
The college president, Dr. Kevin James, in a letter released on the college’s Instagram, had originally stated that starting from August 20, all students and staff were mandated to wear masks for a period of two weeks.
Addressing the mandate’s conclusion in a recent communication with Newsweek, Dr. James clarified that while the mask requirement has ended, the college will “still have several safety protocols in place.”
The two-week mandate had not only emphasized mask-wearing but had also placed a prohibition on large student gatherings and parties within the campus.
Along with this, daily campus entrants had been subjected to temperature checks and were expected to maintain social distance.
Those diagnosed with COVID-19 were instructed to undergo a five-day isolation and take part in contact tracing procedures.
Details about which of these safety measures will continue remain undisclosed.
The decision by Morris Brown College to reintroduce and subsequently end the mask mandate mirrors similar decisions in schools, healthcare units, and businesses nationwide, hinting at a broader debate around such policies.
A notable voice of dissent came from U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, who expressed her strong disapproval on the X platform, proclaiming, “Americans have had enough COVID hysteria. WE WILL NOT COMPLY!” in reference to the college’s initial decision.
While debates about mask-wearing and its effectiveness continue, some experts emphasize its role, especially when newer variants emerge.
“Masks are more important when a highly immune-evasive variant emerges—that is, a variant that is not well matched to existing vaccines,” commented epidemiologist Raina MacIntyre, a global biosecurity professor at the University of New South Wales, Australia, in a conversation with Newsweek.
She also pointed out the ongoing global concern, remarking, “COVID remains a leading cause of death worldwide, and has caused a drop in life expectancy in the U.S.”
