The Marquette University COVID-19 Response Team will meet tomorrow morning, March 1, to discuss the university’s mask mandate. Currently, all individuals regardless of vaccination status are required to wear a mask in public indoor spaces.
Marquette Wire sports reporter Johnnie Brooker was at the Urban Scholars celebration dinner where University President Michael Lovell and Provost Kimo Ah Yun said the COVID-19 response team plans to meet tomorrow at 8:15 a.m. following the expiration of the City of Milwaukee’s mask mandate. The city’s mask mandate is set to expire tomorrow, March 1.
“We go by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and the Milwaukee health department’s requirement for masks…and there should be an announcement for tomorrow,” Lovell said.
He also mentioned that the CDC changed its mask guidelines last Friday.
“We’re working on an announcement for tomorrow. We’ll meet with the team to talk about what things would look like,” Ah Yun said.
The Marquette Wire was able to confirm with other university officials that the COVID-19 response team is set to meet tomorrow and the university’s mask mandate is on the agenda.
“Milwaukee’s mask requirement expires tomorrow, March 1, and the CDC recently changed its mask guidance. The Marquette University COVID-19 Response Team is meeting tomorrow morning to discuss these developments and is expected to make a recommendation to senior leaders to update the university’s mask guidance to align with the CDC. An official university announcement will follow,” Lynn Griffith, university spokesperson, said in an email.
The COVID-19 Response Team makes recommendations that then have to be approved by the senior leadership team. Lovell is a part of this team.
From Jan. 24-Feb.23 there have been 251 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 on campus. Two hundred and six of those were students, 45 were staff or faculty. The first day of the spring semester was Jan. 24.
Marquette has followed the City of Milwaukee Health Department’s policy on masks in the past.
The Milwaukee Health Department’s mask requirement for public indoor spaces expired June 1, 2021. Marquette also removed its mask mandate June 1, in conjunction with the city’s removal.
Later in the summer, Marquette re-instated the indoor mask policy Aug. 17, following the City of Milwaukee’s classification of an “extreme transmission” status for COVID-19 cases. At this point the City of Milwaukee Health Department recommends that people wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
Marquette has required masks in public indoor spaces since then. Recently the University of Wisconsin school system announced its mask mandates expiration, leaving decisions about masking up to individual universities.
UW-Green Bay will no longer require masks beginning March 1. UW-Madison will not require masks beginning March 12, though the mask mandate for Dane County expires March 1.
UW-Milwaukee will require masks to be worn in public indoor spaces through March 18.
This story is developing
Johnnie Brooker, Alex Garner and Benjamin Wells contributed to this report.
This story was written by Megan Woolard. She can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @MeganWoolard4
