Southern Illinois University Carbondale is updating its masking policy on campus.
The Emergency Operations Center says after closely monitoring the COVID-19 trends for the two weeks following spring break, it has decided masks will now be optional in classrooms and labs. This means the wearing of face coverings is encouraged but not required in most settings.
The exceptions will be in classes or labs where the instructor required a mask in their syllabus at the beginning of the spring semester as well as public transportation and health care settings.
Officials say the decision came about after the positivity rate from on-campus tests since February 9 dropped under two percent, and this week, there were no new positive cases.
