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Penn State To Lift Most Masking Requirements June 28

Penn State will follow Governor Tom Wolf’s administration and lift most masking requirements for fully vaccinated people on Monday, June 28.

Starting then, those who are fully vaccinated won’t need to wear masks or physically distance themselves indoors. Social distancing and masking outdoors will be lifted for all individuals, too. Non-vaccinated individuals, however, will need to continue masking inside campus buildings after June 28.

However, Penn State will follow Centers for Disease Control guidelines and still require masking in a few locations, including on public transportation and in health facilities like University Health Services.

Once the mandate expires, Penn State said it will begin reconfiguring classrooms and on-campus spaces back to their pre-pandemic looks, mostly through the removal of social distancing markers and marked-off seating.

In a statement, President Eric Barron encouraged students and employees to get vaccinated before returning to campus for the fall semester in August.

“Beginning the transition toward the end of June to align more closely with the CDC’s and Pennsylvania Department of Health’s guidance provides Penn State time to prepare, and give faculty, staff, students and visitors the opportunity to get their vaccinations now, if they have not already done so,” Barron said. “I strongly urge everyone in our community to get immunized as soon as possible and to share their proof of vaccination with the University so we can better assess the vaccination rates across our population.”

To help in that effort, Penn State is launching new weekly raffles for fully vaccinated students and employees. Potential prizes include $1,000 payments, $100 Barnes & Noble gift cards, and footballs signed by James Franklin.

However, Penn State hasn’t yet required vaccinations for students and employees, and it seems unlikely to do so. Despite a May Faculty Senate vote encouraging vaccine requirements, administrators like Provost Nick Jones have reiterated Penn State is more comfortable incentivizing shots than outright requiring them.

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About the Author

Matt DiSanto

Matt proudly served as Onward State’s managing editor for two years until graduating from Penn State in May 2022. Now, he’s off in the real world doing real things. Send him an email ([email protected]) or follow him on Twitter (@mattdisanto_) to stay in touch.

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