Dear Falcons,
Welcome to November, cold mornings, and fewer and fewer leaves on the trees. This is when we start really appreciating not having to go outside to get from building to building. As infection rates climbed to “high transmission” status in Ozaukee County in late summer of 2021, Concordia University announced the decision to require masks indoors for all students, employees, and guests, regardless of vaccination status. This decision was in alignment with recommendations from the CDC and our local health officials, and was consistent with other Concordias within the CUS system and most universities in the state. We also reinstated surveillance testing for intercollegiate athletics and many of our co-curricular student groups.
Despite the high transmission levels in our county, our campus positivity rate has been consistently low. Through well-designed mitigation strategies, and each of your efforts, the spread of COVID-19 on campus has been low. While we’ve certainly been tested throughout this past year-and-a-half, our community has much to celebrate and much to be grateful for.
Because of our collective efforts and demonstrated care and concern for one another, the following changes will go into effect Saturday November 6th.
- Masks will remain mandatory in high-capacity places where people gather for periods of longer than 15 minutes. Examples of these include:
- In-person classes and labs
- Daily Chapel
- Spectators in attendance at indoor athletic, music, and drama events
- In-person group meetings and study groups
- Masks will be encouraged, but not mandatory, in places that do not fit these criteria. These spaces include:
- Hallways going from place to place
- In an office or spaces where you are more than six feet away from the next closest person
- Outdoors
Whenever in doubt, please wear the mask!
If campus COVID-19 infection rates begin to increase again, if there is a sizable outbreak on campus, or if local healthcare agency guidance concerning masks changes, campus mask guidelines will be revisited and communicated to the campus community.
What’s next?
We will continue to closely monitor both campus and local COVID-19 infection rates. Campus guidance for masks, testing, and other health measures will be evaluated on a weekly basis, and any changes will be communicated to the campus community in a timely manner.
In Christ,
Steve