Indoor Mask Mandate Issued At CU Boulder

BOULDER, CO — The University of Colorado Boulder announced Tuesday a new indoor mask mandate, which is set to take effect Friday.

Everyone on campus will be required to wear a mask indoors, regardless of vaccination status.

The CU Boulder Pandemic Response Office issued a letter to the campus community, which outlined the reason for the decision.

"Considering the increasing rates of the COVID-19 delta variant, this decision was made to support the public health and safety of our community and support a consistent in-person experience this semester," the letter read.

"Campus officials have consulted regularly with local public health officials about the conditions in our community and support masking in educational settings as a means of maintaining the continuity of the campus educational experiences without changes in modality or capacity restrictions."

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CU Boulder posted the following guidelines:

• All individuals must wear a face covering at CU Boulder when engaged in classroom instruction, laboratory work, academic advising or other activities in any publicly accessible indoor space on campus.
• Activities performed in indoor spaces that are not publicly accessible (e.g., residence halls, private offices, controlled-access facilities, etc.) are not subject to this requirement, although public health officials strongly recommend all unvaccinated persons wear a face covering in both public and non-public indoor spaces whenever possible.
• Masks will continue to be required on Buff Buses in line with Regional Transportation District practices.
• Anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask is encouraged to do so even in settings where masks are not required.

Exceptions

• Children under age 2 and individuals who cannot medically tolerate a face covering are exempt from this requirement.
• Individuals performing any of the following activities are exempt from the campus indoor face covering requirement while such activity is being performed:
• Those who are hearing-impaired or otherwise disabled or who are communicating with someone who is hearing-impaired or otherwise disabled and where the ability to see the mouth is essential to communication.
• Vaccinated instructional faculty who are engaged in an indoor instructional activity and are separated by at least 6 feet from the nearest person.
• Vaccinated researchers who are engaged in laboratory work and are separated by at least 6 feet from the nearest person.
• Individuals who are engaged in an instructional activity or laboratory work under circumstances where wearing a face covering would significantly impede their ability to effectively perform the activity or work, such as playing a musical instrument, vocal performance or where the ability to see the mouth is essential to communication (e.g., foreign language instruction).
• CU Boulder’s Public Health Office will be responsible for determining which activities and work, as well as the circumstances under which they may be performed, are permitted under this exception. The Public Health Office will communicate on the exemption process later this week.
• Individuals seated while actively eating during meals are exempt from this requirement.
• Individuals who are asked to temporarily remove their face covering for identification purposes as part of a particular service requiring legal identification may do so.
• Individuals who are actively engaged in a public safety role, such as law enforcement personnel, firefighters or emergency medical personnel, are exempt from this requirement.

The University of Colorado's four campuses will require all students and staff to receive their vaccinations by Sept. 15.

Boulder County Public Health also issued a new indoor mask mandate for all indoor PK-12 schools and childcare settings this week. The new requirement takes effect Tuesday.

>> Read the full letter to the campus community here.