As OU’s two-week mask mandate is set to end on Jan. 31, the university announced in an email to students on Friday that it will revert to its fall semester “expected” masking guidance.
Beginning Feb. 1, the university will expect masking in all indoor settings. According to the email, if a student in a class tests positive, the entire class will be required to mask for two weeks.
During the fall semester, OU cited Senate Bill 658 and Executive Order 2021-16 as the preventing factors in enforcing a general mask mandate. SB 658 prevents some entities from enforcing vaccination mandates and masking requirements for unvaccinated individuals, while the executive order forbids state operated buildings and spaces from enforcing mask mandates.
When the two-week mask mandate was announced on Jan. 10, a university spokesperson told The Daily that there is some “ambiguity in the interpretation” of what is classified as a public space. The “high likelihood” some students would return to campus infected with COVID-19 was provided as the reason behind the mandate.
The spokesperson did not answer whether OU could have implemented a mask mandate last semester. Both the OU chapter of the American Association of University Professors and OU Law Professor Joseph Thai publicly criticized OU’s lack of a mask mandate.
“OU leadership deliberately spread COVID misinformation that state law forbids the university from adopting a general mask mandate. But read the law for yourself OU: state law only forbids a target ‘mask mandate for students who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.’ It does not forbid a general mask mandate for all students, faculty and staff,” Thai wrote in a statement on Jan 13.
While cloth masks are still allowed on the Norman campus, KN95 masks or disposable surgical masks are recommended by the university, according to the email.
OU Staff Senate Chair Justin Daniels announced on Jan. 19 that OU will not distribute any more KN95 masks once their current supply of approximately 100,000 runs out.
The university continues to recommend the use of the Healthy Together App Passport and “strongly encourages” all members of the OU community to complete a vaccination series, including a booster shot.
Since the semester began, 214 students, staff and faculty have tested positive according to the OU COVID-19 Dashboard. In Cleveland County, The New York Times COVID-19 Dashboard reported 976 positive cases for Jan 26.
According to the New York Times, Oklahoma ranks No. 4 in cases per 100,000 and No. 9 in hospitalizations per 100,000.
