COLUMBUS — The surge in COVID-19 cases traced to the delta variant of the coronavirus may mean vaccine requirements and the return of masks.
Both Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati now says everyone who enters campus buildings must wear a mask indoors.
The schools’ mandates announced this week follow updated guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that people who are fully vaccinated should resume wearing masks indoors if they live in areas where the virus is surging.
The Columbus Dispatch reports OSU President Kristina Johnson sent an email with the new guidance to the Ohio State community Monday afternoon, saying it came into effect immediately.
Students and others attending the outdoor commencement ceremony at Ohio Stadium on Saturday will not be required to wear masks there.
Faculty, staff and students at the OSU Wexner Medical Center, including the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute and the College of Medicine, who are already required to receive an annual flu shot, will now have to get at least the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine or an approved exemption by Oct. 15.
All three of central Ohio’s major hospital chains are instituting similar requirements.
OhioHealth will require the COVID-19 vaccine for all its 35,000 associates, providers and volunteers by Dec. 1 and Mt. Carmel Health System announced last month that is is requiring all employees and clinical staff will be required to be fully vaccinated.
The Delta variant reportedly accounts for an estimated 93.4% of coronavirus circulating in the United States, the CDC announced Wednesday.