Brown reinstates indoor masking mandate

The University has reinstated its indoor masking mandate for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, except in private, non-shared spaces such as a dorm or when actively eating or drinking, according to a May 25 email to the Brown community from Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy Russell Carey ’91 MA’06.

Under the new policy, individuals must wear a KN95, KF94, N95 or surgical mask when indoors, though speakers can remove masks when delivering presentations. 

The update comes per recommendations from the Rhode Island Department of Health and as a result of the “high volume of activity and visitors and guests on campus … for Commencement and Reunion Weekend,” Carey wrote in the email. Commencement and Reunion Weekend will be held from May 27 to 29.

The announcement follows an “increase” in reported student positive COVID-19 test results over the past several days and a cluster of positive test results reported by Warren Alpert Medical School students who attended an event at the Rhode Island Convention Center on May 20, according to the announcement. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently designated Providence County as a higher-risk area for COVID-19, according to a May 20 email announcement from Carey. In that announcement, Carey wrote that the University was not, at the time, updating campus safety protocols “given the high levels of vaccination and overall public health conditions on the Brown campus.”

During the week of May 12 to 18, 85 students and 68 employees reported positive COVID-19 test results and 32 students were in isolation, according to a May 20 COVID-19 Campus Safety Update — the last weekly campus safety update of the spring 2022 semester. 

The Alumnae Hall test kit pick-up site will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 28 through May 30 and will have KN95 masks available for pickup by University community members.