Facing a surge in coronavirus cases across the state, two Central Florida colleges, including one that had already announced plans to abandon mask mandates for the upcoming school year and another that said it would do so if enough students and workers were vaccinated, have changed course and now say masks will be required inside campus buildings indefinitely.
Seminole State College and Rollins College announced policy changes this week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended fully vaccinated people wear masks while inside public buildings in areas of substantial or high transmission. Nearly all of Florida, including the entire Central Florida region, is considered an area of “high” transmission, according to the CDC.
Central Florida colleges plan to transition many courses that were taught remotely during the past year back to an in-person format this fall. School leaders also are encouraging workers and students to get vaccinated before classes resume next month.
Some schools also will continue to require masks.
Seminole State, which ended its mask requirement for fully vaccinated students and employees on June 22, said Friday it will reinstate that mandate for everyone on Monday.
And Rollins College, which previously said it would drop its mask requirement on Sept. 3 if at least 80% of the campus is vaccinated, said this week it has suspended those plans, citing the new CDC guidance.
“Since the start of the pandemic, we have followed CDC guidance regarding our COVID protocols, and this has served us well by limiting occurrences of COVID among our campus community,” Rollins Provost Susan Singer wrote in a message to students and employees on Thursday morning. “We will continue to monitor CDC guidance and shift any policies as appropriate. Following these recent guidelines will help us keep our campus community as safe as possible.”
In Orange County, Mayor Jerry Demings declared a state of emergency on Wednesday as new infections of COVID-19 hit a single-day high and wastewater surveillance hinted at further increases in the near future. The new state of emergency came nearly two months after he ended the previous order, which had been in place since March 2020.
Demings also said on Wednesday he is requiring employees and visitors to wear masks in county facilities and urged private businesses to require workers to get vaccinated and wear masks indoors.
But a spokesperson for the University of Central Florida, the area’s largest institution with more than 70,000 students, said Friday the school has no plans to make masks mandatory again.
“We have not changed our policy at this time,” university spokesperson Courtney Gilmartin said.
UCF’s current protocol, which says masks and face-coverings are optional, is in keeping with guidance from the Board of Governors, which oversees the state university system, according to the school’s website.
Masks are still required inside buildings at Valencia College, which has campuses in Orange and Osceola Counties. The college said previously it planned to continue to require them for at least part of the fall semester, based on the current CDC guidance. The school also limited the sizes of in-person courses for the fall to allow at least 6 feet of distance between students in classrooms.
“Valencia will continue to require masks indoors based on new CDC guidance and the recommendation of our partner, Orlando Health,” Valencia spokesperson Carol Traynor wrote in an email. “Our protocols will be adjusted with any changes to the guidance.”
anmartin@orlandosentinel.com
