ORLANDO, Fla. – Starting Monday, masks will be encouraged rather than required on campus at the University of Central Florida.
“Following guidance from the Board of Governors and in collaboration with the other State University System institutions, effective May 10, 2021, UCF encourages rather than requires our campus community to wear face coverings indoors and to follow CDC guidelines on our campuses and everywhere you go,” the coronavirus portion of the school’s website reads. “This is a change from our previous requirement to wear face coverings, and it reflects our campus community’s many efforts to get vaccinated and the low number of COVID-19 cases at UCF.”
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The change means that students and staff members can no longer ask someone to wear a mask while interacting with that person and professors can no longer require masks during in-person lectures.
“It is on each of us to take the personal precautions necessary to protect our campus community,” the webpage read.
The exception is that masks are still required at the Student Health Center because it’s a medical building.
In addition to facial coverings being encouraged, members of the campus community are also asked to monitor themselves for any COVID-19 symptoms and stay home if they’re sick.
Since March 2020, Student Health Services has conducted 1,520 COVID-19 tests that have turned up positive, 198 more cases were detected among students moving into dorms, students have self-reported 2,161 cases and 402 cases have been self-reported among faculty and staff.