Morris Brown College (MBC) in Atlanta, Georgia, announced Sunday that it would be implementing a mask mandate for all students, faculty and staff for the 2023 fall semester, according to an Instagram post.
The announcement came from Dr. Kevin James, the college’s president, who informed the campus that the mandate would go into effect “immediately” due to several cases of COVID-19 reported at the Atlanta University Center (AUC), a consortium of nearby historically black colleges, according to the post. James told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement that MBC has no cases yet but that the school is “taking precautionary measures for the next 14 days.” (RELATED: Study On COVID Misinformation — You Guessed It — Chock Full Of COVID Misinformation)
“We prioritize your safety and seek your cooperation in preventing another pandemic,” James wrote in the post. “Thank you for being proactive in safeguarding our community.”
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In addition, students must continue social distancing, all large gatherings have been canceled for the next two weeks and anyone going on campus must get their temperature taken, according to the post. Students and staff who test positive must quarantine for five days in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention protocols.
The school has required students and staff to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine since 2021 for those “accessing College facilities and programs in person,” and James confirmed to the DCNF that the policy is still in place for “admitted students” with exemptions available for religious and medical reasons.
Morehouse College, which is part of several historically black colleges at the AUC, notes on its website that the COVID-19 case levels in the area are in the “green,” the lowest level possible. Morehouse does not require masks or distancing restrictions while at a green level.
Health officials have been tracking several new strains of the COVID-19 virus in recent weeks but, despite this, numbers have shown that COVID-19 hospitalization levels are significantly lower than what they were during the pandemic, according to CBS News.
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