BYU will require masks for students this fall, teachers have options

PROVO, Utah — Students attending BYU will be required to wear a mask for in-person classes on the campus when the fall semester begins on August 23.

As for teachers, those who are fully vaccinated and who maintain physical distance from students will be allowed to teach without wearing a mask.

Further, on its webpage, the school also said that masks will be required in any indoor space when physical distancing isn’t maintained, and “in other areas when directed.”

A student’s vaccination status will not matter, the school said. Masks will still be required as directed.

The announcement comes days before the beginning of the fall semester and one week after an announcement from the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, strongly urging that members wear face masks when needed. That announcement also encouraged Latter-day Saints to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Friday’s announcement reverses what the school said in May 2021. Pointing to what was, at that point, decreasing reports of COVID-19 the school suggested that masking and physical distancing wouldn’t be necessary for the fall semester.

But it also indicated that decision could change if there was a spike in cases or changes in official recommendations.

Other reading:

• Latter-day Saints asked to mask up, get vaccinated
• Access to BYU’s academic website depends on reporting vaccine status
• BYU professor helps correct COVID-19 vaccine myths

 

 

 

 

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