Masks will no longer be required in student residence halls, administrative or academic buildings, athletic facilities and Smith Union, COVID-19 Resource Coordinator Mike Ranen announced in an email to the campus community today. Additionally, dining halls will reopen for faculty and staff, effective immediately.

However, masks will still be required in a number of situations, including classrooms and lab spaces during scheduled classes, when interacting with staff in the library, while entering dining facilities and at indoor events that are open to the public.

Ranen also announced that, while students will continue to be tested twice a week for the next few weeks, the College will move to pooled testing following Thanksgiving break. Additionally, beginning in January, students who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be isolated in the Freeport hotel. More information about isolation options close to or on campus will be provided at the beginning of the spring semester.

“As we relax some restrictions, we strongly encourage everyone to pay close attention to instances where appropriate social distancing is not possible and to wear a face covering in these situations,” Ranen wrote. “The pandemic is not over, and we all need to acknowledge the possibility that more restrictive conditions might have to be restored if conditions worsen—this is part of living with the virus.”