Feb. 15, 2022
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Student Employees:
I would like to provide some clarification to my message from yesterday, specifically about continuing indoor mask requirements.
As was included in yesterday’s message, an announcement from Ventura County Public Health (VCPH) shared the news that they would be lifting the indoor mask requirement as of Feb. 16 in alignment with the State’s masking policy, which requires unvaccinated persons to wear a mask in all indoor public settings and recommends for fully vaccinated individuals to continue to wear a mask indoors when the risk may be high.
While there are many data points trending in the right direction, this is a shift from current CDC guidance, which continues to recommend masking in areas with substantial and high transmission rates of COVID as determined by case counts for a county. Please note that both Ventura County and Los Angeles counties currently remain in high transmission areas based on these data points.
In consideration of the above information, our campus will continue to operate under CDC parameters and will not make any changes to our current indoor mask protocol for all individuals on our campus or affiliated locations (Channel Islands Boating Center, Santa Rosa Island Research Station, Goleta instructional site).
In summary, the rationale for continuing the indoor mask protocol is based on:
- CSUCI is situated in a high transmission area as identified by the CDC, as well as being a high-density congregate setting; and
- There are inherent challenges with enforcing separate mask protocol for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, particularly in classrooms or learning spaces.
We will continue to work with CSUCI’s Environmental Health & Safety and VCPH as we monitor local transmission rates and additional data points, as well as our on-campus cases. In addition, we will be monitoring our K-12 system for additional information, as the California Health & Human Services Agency will be reassessing the current mask requirement for schools on February 28. We will also continue to follow the COVID-19 prevention standards set by Cal/OSHA. As conditions evolve, we will notify the campus community of any changes to our mask requirements.
Again, I appreciate everyone’s continued patience and cooperation to facilitate a safe working and learning environment for our campus community. If you have any questions, please email csuci.news@csuci.edu so your questions can be directed to the appropriate area for a response.
Sincerely,
Richard Yao, Ph.D.
President