St. Michael’s College and the Community College of Vermont are instituting indoor mask mandates, effective Monday, as colleges across the state respond to rising Covid-19 case counts.
Chittenden County, where St. Michael’s and one of CCV’s 12 branches are located, is reporting substantial transmission of the virus with 78.16 cases per 100,000 residents, a 52.38% increase over the past week, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC recommends indoor masking, including for those vaccinated, in areas with substantial or high transmission.
“We will continue to review our health and safety guidelines on a weekly basis, and we appreciate your flexibility as we adjust our policies to best position ourselves for a healthy start to a vibrant academic year,” St. Michael’s College President Lorraine Sterritt said in the masking announcement posted Friday.
CCV is part of the Vermont State Colleges system, which is exploring whether to institute indoor masking mandates on its other campuses as well, according to Katherine Levasseur, director of external and governmental affairs. Those campuses would be Northern Vermont University in Lyndon and Johnson, Castleton University, and Vermont Technical College.
The three residential colleges — NVU, Castleton, and Vermont Tech — require students to be vaccinated, and “a vaccination mandate of employees is currently under discussion,” Levasseur said in an email to VTDigger.
CCV does not plan to require that students or faculty returning to campus this fall receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
St. Michael’s College requires vaccinations for all of its students unless they are granted an exemption. More than 90% of faculty and staff are vaccinated, according to Director of Marketing and Communications Alessandro Bertoni, but they are not required to do so.
Norwich University announced plans Thursday for Covid-19 testing for students upon arrival and a week later. The school has yet to implement a mask mandate, but that may change depending on guidance from the Vermont Department of Health and the CDC.
“Our intent is to limit restrictions and to have a vibrant campus experience,” the announcement said.
Norwich is requiring vaccinations for all students and employees, 84% of whom have been vaccinated. Between 9% and 10% of students have received religious or medical exemptions, and 3% of faculty and staff have as well, according to Director of Media Relations and Community Affairs Daphne Larkin.
The University of Vermont and Dartmouth College announced they were instituting indoor masking requirements Thursday.
Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously reported which colleges are requiring students to be vaccinated. The residential colleges currently have that requirement, but not CCV.
