University of Alaska In Fairbanks Mandates Masks On Campus

Universities Everywhere Try To Keep Covid Off Campus This Fall 

University of Alaska Fairbanks (File Photo, Country Journal)

As of Thursday, July 23rd, masks were required on the UAF campus to help reduce transmitting Covid-19. 

The university said that wearing a mask is now a "requirement as a condition of employment" at the university. Students who do not wear masks can be subject to probation, suspension, expulsion or loss of housing. The public coming on campus will also have to wear a mask. If they do not wear one they may be subject to trespass.

People with health conditions that preclude wearing a mask are exempt, as are children under five.  There are other exceptions for being outdoors, 6 feet from others, or alone.

As the fall season approaches, schools and colleges are looking for ways to keep from inciting outbreaks that may lead to closure and quarantines. Colleges are not immune from covid, as is shown in incidents that have occurred on campuses this summer, even before school officially starts.

As of mid-July there were outbreaks in Washington, Mississippi and California at fraternity houses. At the University of Washington in Seattle, 145 fraternity-house related people tested positive for coronavirus. At the same time, the University of California at Berkeley found 47 cases among students. At the University of Mississippi there were 160 covid cases.

"There's a substantial risk of similar outbreaks occurring at other universities and colleges," said David Hamer, of Boston University.