Board of Trustees Extends UW Mask Policy

Masks will continue to be required inside most University of Wyoming buildings where 6-foot social distancing isn’t possible, following action by the UW Board of Trustees.

The board voted today (Wednesday) to extend the mask policy, as Albany County remains in the Wyoming Department of Health’s “high transmission levels” category for COVID-19. As of Monday, there were 22 active cases among UW students and employees -- 10 students off campus, six students on campus and six employees.

The policy will continue to be revisited in subsequent meetings of the board.

Exceptions to the indoor mask requirement are voluntary public events such as athletics and music, theater and dance performances; voluntary social events; and private, by-invitation events that involve rental and/or use of UW spaces on campus. Employees and students who have legitimate medical reasons to not wear masks can seek exceptions.

An additional exception is for patrons of Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center when participating in recreational activities, sport or fitness or when a spectator at a voluntary public recreational event. Half Acre patrons are still required to wear masks when entering and exiting the building, at all customer service desks and in meeting rooms.

A recent anonymous survey conducted by the Associated Students of UW (ASUW) found that, of 2,098 students surveyed, 49 percent agreed with the current mask policy; 21.5 percent somewhat agreed; and 29.5 percent disagreed.

UW continues to strongly encourage COVID-19 vaccinations -- as well as reporting of those vaccinations. For employees, a quick reference guide has been created to help report vaccinations within UW’s HCM. Students who receive their COVID-19 vaccinations should upload documentation to the Student Health Service patient portal as soon as their vaccine series is complete. This is as simple as taking a photo of your vaccination document and uploading the picture here: http://patientportal.uwyo.edu, using your regular UW user ID and password. Alternatively, students can report their vaccinations by emailing photos of their vaccination documents to Student Health at studenthealth@uwyo.edu.

As of Monday, 4,944 UW students had reported being vaccinated to Student Health. Of 2,895 total benefited employees, 2,204 -- 76 percent -- had reported receiving at least one vaccine dose to the HCM. Adding in nonbenefited employees, 3,492 of the total 6,426 staff and faculty members -- 54 percent -- had reported receiving at least one dose.

In an anonymous survey at the start of the semester, 88 percent of employees and 66 percent of students said they had been vaccinated. The new anonymous survey of students, conducted Sept. 20-Oct. 4 by ASUW, found that 1,497 of 2,173 students surveyed -- 69 percent -- said they had been fully vaccinated, with an additional 44 students (2 percent) partially vaccinated. Some 24 percent said they hadn’t been vaccinated, with 5 percent preferring to not answer.

The latest statistics on UW’s current COVID case numbers and vaccinations are available at www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/covid-dashboard.html (this link is no longer valid, please contact cbaldwin@uwyo.edu for questions.)

More information about UW’s COVID-19 response can be found at www.uwyo.edu/campus-return (this link is no longer valid, please contact cbaldwin@uwyo.edu for questions), which is being updated as information becomes available. Those with questions about testing and other COVID-19 issues may call (307) 766-COVD (2683) or email COVID19@uwyo.edu.

Questions specifically about the vaccine should be emailed to COVIDVX@uwyo.edu. A UW vaccine webpage has been established at www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/vaccination (this link is no longer valid, please contact cbaldwin@uwyo.edu for questions.)