COVID-19 Update: Reviewing CDC Mask Guidance

Dear Students, Faculty, Staff and Families:

As you may be aware, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending indoor masking in Onondaga County. This recommendation is based on three data points, including active COVID cases, hospitalizations and hospital capacity. The CDC’s action does not represent a federal masking order but is instead a recommendation to our community. The University has no new information to indicate that the Onondaga County Health Department or the New York State Department of Health intend to issue a local masking order in response to the CDC’s most recent guidance.

As a reminder, the University’s current COVID level of “Yellow” recommends indoor masking when in the presence of others, which is consistent with the most recent CDC guidance. At this time, the University will not make any immediate changes to its campus masking policy. We continue to urge our students, faculty and staff to take appropriate steps to safeguard your health, especially when visiting public spaces and places across our region.

Based on our most recent testing and case data, our campus community is not experiencing the same surge in transmission and new cases that are being reported elsewhere in the county. The University’s random surveillance test positivity rate for the most recent seven-day period was 1.2%, as compared to 9% in Onondaga County over the same period. As always, we will continue to monitor public health conditions.

The University is in close contact with our partners at the New York State Department of Health and Onondaga County Health Department. Should they recommend or require changes to our masking guidance in the days to come, we will communicate with our community promptly.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Haynie
Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation