According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-19 is no longer an emergency health threat. While we recognize that COVID concerns are very real, we will continue to follow CDC guidelines as we have done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC now views COVID-19 as a respiratory illness like influenza and RSV which can be treated with certain prevention and control strategies such as:

• Staying up to date with immunizations
• Practicing good hygiene (practices that improve cleanliness)
• Wearing a mask
• Physical distancing

If you are sick with a respiratory virus, the university requests that you use the same judgement around missing work or class that you would with any other illness. These recommendations include:

1. Stay at home

Please stay at home and away from others until at least 24 hours after your symptoms are getting better and you have not had a fever (and are not using fever-reducing medication).

2. Communication to instructors and/or supervisors

The university will no longer utilize the COVID symptom screening process. It is the responsibility of the student to communicate with their instructors, and employees to communicate with supervisors when they are unable to come to campus.

We hope everyone at Mount Mary will continue to do their part in keeping our community safe and healthy. For more information, please review the CDC website here.