Rhode Island College Lifting COVID-19 Mask Requirement

PROVIDENCE, RI — Masks will no longer be required at Rhode Island College, starting next week. With COVID-19 cases on the decline, the school announced that the campus-wide mask mandate will loosen starting Monday.

While students and staff can be mask-free in most settings, they will still be required in classrooms, labs, faculty offices and student services offices. Professors or staff members will have the option to waive mask requirements in these settings, if they choose.

This "simple mitigation effort" is a way to keep vulnerable students and staff safe while in class, the college explained in a statement.

"We must be mindful that the classroom is the one place in which every student and faculty member will spend at least some time in a given week," the statement read in part. "It is a smaller, more closed environment than most other indoor areas of campus, and people are closer together. Some of our faculty are at higher risk for COVID-19, or live with close family members who are, and yet remain committed to classroom instruction."

The loosened mask requirements will not change RIC's vaccine and booster requirement. Anyone with a qualified vaccine exemption will still have to get tested, though the school will no longer send daily screening reminder emails.

"We look forward to the day — hopefully in the very near future — when mitigation efforts are no longer needed," school officials said. "Although we are in a much better place than we were earlier this year, we must recognize that COVID-19 is still with us."

The loosened mask requirements bring RIC in line with other colleges and universities in the state. most of which have changed their policies, as well. This week, Johnson and Wales announced changes to their mask policy, while several others lifted their requirements at the beginning of the month.