UH keeps mandatory indoor masking policy ahead of new semester

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Ahead of the 2022 fall semester, University of Hawaii officials announced masking will be required indoors across system campuses.

UH made the announcement Wednesday after consulting with health advisors, saying the update was effective immediately.

Indoor spaces where masking is required includes classrooms, shared lab spaces and other tightly confined spaces like advising offices.

In all other settings on campus, masks are high recommended.

Masking guidelines are in place now through the first month of classes, until Sept. 19. School officials will closely monitor and change the guidelines as needed.

“The retention of this indoor masking requirement will help everyone safely begin the semester while all but one of our counties is at a “high” COVID-19 community level. This guidance also recognizes increasing face-to-face interaction this fall among students as well as employees who may have traveled recently from outside of the state,” university officials said in the announcement.

This comes as the state released new COVID numbers Tuesday. Health officials reported 21 new COVID fatalities and 3,689 new infections over the last week.

The DOH now releases weekly recaps of the COVID numbers rather than issuing a daily report.

Copyright 2022 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.