KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Missouri System announced Thursday that its campuses' indoor mask mandates will expire after Friday.
The Office of the President sent out a letter to the campus community stating that the temporary indoor mask requirement will expire after Oct. 15 due to improving conditions.
"We are encouraged that COVID-19 cases this semester have remained low," the letter said. "Additionally, we now see our local hospitals are keeping up with the needs of COVID-19 and other patients. More people in our community have been vaccinated in recent weeks and thousands have voluntarily uploaded vaccination documents."
The UM System now only requests that students, faculty and staff, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks in all indoor spaces.
MU facilities in other parts of the state will have to follow the local public health guidance.
The University of Missouri - Kansas City will still require masks due to a city mask mandate.
“The temporary indoor mask mandate that was enacted in July and extended in September helped us avoid a potential spike in cases at the beginning of the semester and relieved pressure on local hospitals,” Mun Choi, president of the University of Missouri, said in a release. “The requirements were never intended to be a permanent policy. Moving forward, we believe vaccination, personal responsibility and continued vigilance from our campus community will help guide us through this stage of the pandemic.”
MU Health Care, the School of Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine at MU may continue to have masking requirements.
