With the recent updates to public health guidelines from the State of California and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and lower transmission rates in Santa Cruz County, it is appropriate to revisit our indoor masking policy.
Effective April 10, masks will not be required for most indoor settings at UC Santa Cruz facilities, but their use will still be strongly recommended. We chose this date to relax the masking requirement to allow time for the campus community to test following spring break, per our protocol. Masks will still be required on campus public transportation, in the Early Education Services centers, and in clinical settings, such as the Student Health Center and at indoor COVID-19 testing sites.
While not required, indoor masking remains strongly recommended by campus leadership and local public health officials regardless of an individual’s vaccination status. We also support those who wish to continue masking, such as those who are immunocompromised or otherwise concerned about their health while on campus. Free surgical and KN95 masks will continue to be distributed at various campus locations. We ask that our community be gracious and respectful of each other's personal decisions to mask or not and be mindful of our Principles of Community as we continue to modify campus requirements based on COVID-19 data and the evolving situation in our local and state communities.
As the indoor masking requirement is being relaxed, vaccination and regular testing become even more critical to our COVID-19 mitigation. We need all members of our campus community to continue to follow their asymptomatic testing requirements and get boosted as soon as they are eligible. The symptom checker also remains for employees as it currently is a Cal/OSHA requirement.
Our community has demonstrated an immense amount of flexibility and resiliency throughout the pandemic, especially during the toughest days. We could not have gotten to this point without all of your partnership, and for that, we are sincerely grateful.
