Temporary guidance on mask wearing until policy is updated

Great news! Governor Ralph Northam lifted Virginia’s universal indoor mask mandate to align with new guidance for fully vaccinated people from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Therefore, Shenandoah is looking to update our Personal Conduct & Social Distancing Policy for the future so that masks are no longer required — indoors or out — for fully vaccinated individuals.

This means that those who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask in:

• class
• residence halls
• meetings or small student events
• dining hall

While there is no longer an Executive Order in Virginia that requires fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks in most indoor settings, there are some exceptions when you are out in the community: public transit, health care facilities and congregate settings. And remember that you are welcome to continue wearing a mask, even if you are fully vaccinated, if it makes you feel more comfortable.

As per the governor’s mandate, anyone who is not yet fully vaccinated must continue wearing masks in all settings. We will operate on an honor system since the university community has done so well in following guidelines to keep everyone safe all year and we are confident that everyone who is not fully vaccinated will abide by the requirement to continue to wear a mask.

Governor Northam also announced that Virginia will ease all distancing and capacity restrictions on Friday, May 28, two weeks earlier than planned so Shenandoah will be looking into how that will impact our policy going forward.

After having made it to zero active COVID-19 cases across all Shenandoah locations just weeks ago, the university has a few new cases on its COVID-19 Dashboard. Also, please remember COVID-19 continues to rage in hotspots around the world.

The biggest thing you can do to help end this pandemic is to get vaccinated; if you haven’t done so already, please consider getting vaccinated.