Masks Become Optional at UofSC Aiken

Beginning June 1, 2021 masks will be optional on campus

Aiken, SC (05/28/2021) — The University of South Carolina Aiken (UofSC Aiken) announced Friday that beginning June 1, 2021 masks will be optional on campus.

Last summer, the university implemented over a dozen taskforces made up of volunteers from across campus who made recommendations on how the university would move forward, safely, in the midst of a global pandemic. As result of these taskforces, a mitigation plan, Ready, Set, Return, was implemented.

Ready, Set, Return was updated in December as information about COVID-19 expanded and more updates to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and state guidelines were rolled out. The university is ready to move forward in updating the plan for a third time to include information about vaccines and the latest requirements issued by the state.

A number of individuals, including the chairs of the relevant Faculty and Staff Assembly and sub committees, will be invited to meet with individuals who are involved in renting campus spaces, working with external groups, and those who clean and patrol our university spaces. These individuals will form an editorial group to recommend updates to the Ready, Set, Return Plan, Draft III.

The Ready, Set, Return editorial team will meet with the university's COVID Coordinators to discuss updates to the plan and come up with recommendations for how the campus will proceed when more is known about the limits of the vaccine.

This June, the group will update the plan while keeping in mind requirements concerning the response to the coronavirus issued from the Governor's Office, the Statehouse, the Office of State Administration, and recommendations from CDC and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental (SCDHEC).

Meanwhile, for summer programs, the university will be moving to a "masks optional" campus in recognition of new CDC guidelines, "herd immunity" levels on campus, the low infection rates in our region, to align with local ordinances and other institutions in our region and state. Summer campers and rentals will be mask optional as well.

The university advises that anyone visiting campus should refer to CDC guidelines regarding circumstances when one should wear a mask. The university will continue to provide sanitation products in classrooms so desks may be wiped down before use. Additional information will be forthcoming from the COVID Coordinators as we make this modification to our guidelines.

To view the current Ready, Set, Return plan, visit: https://www.usca.edu/pacer-ready/