As of March 4, Elizabethtown College has changed its COVID-19 guidelines to make mask wearing optional for all students, employees and guests on campus. Etown made this decision due to the recent updates given by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). All persons on campus are welcome to their personal choice regarding masking and may continue to do so if they wish.
Etown’s decision was made following closely with the CDC’s recently updated tracking process, which considers three measures to assess the risk of the virus. These measures include new COVID-related hospital admissions over the previous week, the percentage of hospital beds being used by COVID patients and new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the previous week. These measures are taken from Lancaster County, which is currently listed as a low transmission area. That, along with the low number of cases recorded on campus in the last month, informed the college’s decision to update the guidelines.
When discussing this change, The COVID-19 Taskforce reviewed the CDC’s guidelines and the low number of cases on campus, as well as supporting students and employees in their individual decisions. Some students are wary of this change, however. “I don’t think it should have been lifted during spring break because people traveled. If it had been lifted today or something it would have been better. I would have felt more safe. But it is nice to see people’s faces,” sophomore Judas Foster said.
When asked to take a survey regarding Etown’s new mask policy, participants gave their anonymous responses to the change. About 50 percent of responders reported feeling very satisfied with the recent mask policy update, while 11.1 percent reported feeling very unsatisfied. 52.8 percent of respondents reported not intending to mask on campus, 27.8 percent masking occasionally, and 19.4 percent state that they will continue to wear a mask. One anonymous responder wrote their support for the college’s decision. “I am glad that Etown finally made the decision to grant us freedom of choice with regards to wearing masks. I feel liberated by this new policy and am excited to have regained some semblance of normalcy in my college experience,” the anonymous responder said.
When asked about possible outbreak after the return from Spring Break, the COVID-19 Taskforce stated that this was a part of the discussion. “We understood that this was a possibility, and have been monitoring the number of student cases. Should COVID-19 cases on our campus rise to significant levels or our county move into the CDC’s high transmission categories, the College may reinstate the indoor masking mandate and will communicate that immediately,” COVID-19 Taskforce said. The COVID-19 Taskforce also stated that they will continue to test the non-vaccinated student and employee population at a 25 percent rate, and continue to have procedures to respond with support and facilitate testing as needed.
As of the weekend of March 5 and 6, two students reported testing positive before returning to campus. These students completed their isolation at home without coming to campus. As of Friday, March 11, the College has not been made aware of any other students who tested positive since returning from Spring Break. March 14, Campus News sent out a COVID-19 Campus Update, reporting zero cases for students or employees, and zero persons in isolation, on or off campus.
The College makes note that wearing a mask is a personal choice, and fully supports any student, employee or guest to wear or not wear a mask. The College also expects all members of the Etown community to be respectful of others’ choices and encourage civility and understanding around the matter. However, the College also understands that employees and students engaging College-related experiences off campus must follow the requirements of external facilities regarding COVID-19 policies.
While Lancaster County is currently listed as a low transmission area, should you find yourself experiencing symptoms, possible exposure to someone with COVID-19 or a positive test, please get in contact with The COVID-19 Taskforce at covidtaskforce@etown.edu to figure out the proper course of action.
