Pennsylvania State University announced this week that is requiring that face masks be worn indoors at Penn State’s main campus and at 12 other campuses. The College of Medicine already require masks indoors in alignment with Penn State Health.
The school said the requirement is in accordance with public health guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that advises that masks be worn in counties with high COVID-19 community levels.
Face masks will be required at Penn State Beaver, Greater Allegheny, New Kensington, Schuylkill and University Park beginning Tuesday. Earlier this week Penn State announced that face masks are now required at Penn State Abington, Behrend, Brandywine, Great Valley, Hazleton, Lehigh Valley, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.
CDC’s county-by-county COVID-19 Community Levels is used by Penn State to make decisions regarding the requirement of face masks. Levels can be low (green), medium (yellow) or high (orange), and are based on the number of new COVID-19 cases in each county as well as new hospital admissions and hospital capacity.
- Green counties: CDC recommendations call for individuals to stay up-to-date on their vaccinations and to get tested if they have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Yellow counties: The recommendations advise those who are at high risk for severe illness to talk to their healthcare provider about their individual need to wear a face mask.
- Orange counties: CDC recommends all individuals wear a mask indoors.
Each of the 13 campuses that will now require masks are at the orange (high) level.
“The status of each county is updated on the CDC website on Thursdays,” the university said in a news release. “When a county home to a Penn State campus moves from yellow to orange or vice versa, the campus will communicate with students, faculty and staff when the change in masking policy will take effect.”
Penn State has 24 campuses across the state.
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