Georgetown University imposes mask mandates this fall, against CDC guidelines

Georgetown University (GU)  in Washington, DC announced on Aug. 22 that masks would still be required in “indoor instructional settings, such as classrooms and teaching laboratories, on the Main and Medical Center campuses.” 

The announcement reinforces GU’s July message regarding mask mandates. 

The mandates contradict the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) guidelines that suggest masks are optional during low periods of COVID-19 cases. 

D.C.’s current rate is 89.6 cases per week. 

The university also informed students that they would be conducting wastewater testing for COVID-19 to “help assess public health conditions on campus in the coming weeks.”

The CDC states, “People infected with SARS-CoV-2 can shed the virus in their feces, even if they don’t have symptoms. The virus can then be detected in wastewater, enabling wastewater surveillance to capture [the] presence of SARS-CoV-2 shed by people with and without symptoms.”

[RELATED: Creighton University keeps its vaccine mandates amid an ongoing lawsuit]

The current announcement indicated Georgetown will continue to require students and faculty to have the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots to attend in-person on campus. An exception is made for those with approved religious and medical exemptions. 

The announcement also links to a monkeypox website which includes a summary of possible symptoms of the disease. The website also has a list of frequently asked questions students and staff are referred to. 

[RELATED: Fauci says America is ‘out of the pandemic phase’ as universities continue to impose COVID restrictions] 

Residential students are also required to submit a negative PCR test within 48 hours before or 24 hours upon arrival on campus. Nonresidential can also submit an antigen test. 

Campus Reform reached out to Georgetown and the CDC for comment.

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