Fordham announced it will remove the current mask mandate for all university campuses effective Saturday, March 5.

The decision, which was announced in a March 4 email from Marco Valera, vice president for administration and COVID-19 coordinator, is in line with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the New York Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health.

On campus, “masks are recommended but not required in classrooms, labs, work settings, and public spaces for individuals fully up-to-date on vaccinations,” Valera said. “All individuals may wear masks in any setting if they choose to do so.”

“I think Fordham chose a good time to lift the mask mandate.” Teagan Angell, FCRH ’24

Masks are still required to be worn on the Ram Van and at all University Health Services locations, which include vaccination sites, offices and testing locations. Students will continue to be required to respond to their daily VitalCheck screening questionnaire to have access to campus.

Faculty may also continue to require masks in their classes or labs if they feel particular circumstances warrant it.

“I think Fordham chose a good time to lift the mask mandate,” Teagan Angell, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’24, said. “With only 17 cases on-campus and our county only at a moderate threat based on CDC data, I respect the decision.”

“I think Fordham is being reckless, and they are caring more about publicity than they are students’ safety.” Nusaiba Chakladar, FCLC ’24

Not all students feel as comfortable with the lifting of the mask mandate on campuses.

“I think Fordham is being reckless, and they are caring more about publicity than they are students’ safety,” Nusaiba Chakladar, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’24, said. 

Just a few hours before Fordham sent the announcement, NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced from Times Square that the city would be lifting its mask mandate for public schools and vaccination requirements for restaurants, gyms and concert venues. 

“It’s time to reopen our city,” Adams said. The decision comes after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 26 that public schools in New York state would no longer need to require students and faculty to wear masks. 

According to the CDC’s County Check site, all five NYC boroughs are in the “medium” range based on county data collected between Feb. 23 and March 2. Westchester is rated in the “low” range. 

There are three factors taken into consideration: “new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days.”

A county is in the “low” range if there are fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents, if there are fewer than 10 new positive admissions and less than 10% of inpatient beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients. 

“I feel like it’ll take a few weeks for students to actually feel comfortable not wearing one.” Teagan Angell

Between Feb. 24 and March 2, there have been 17 positive COVID-19 cases at Fordham, with two cases at Lincoln Center and 15 at Rose Hill.

“I feel like it’ll take a few weeks for students to actually feel comfortable not wearing one, and I know I’ll probably wait a week to stop,” Angell said.

After spring break, students will also be required to show proof of a negative COVID test by March 30, given that they have not tested positive within the last 90 days. Students are required to be tested between March 16 and 30.

Maryam Beshara contributed additional reporting to this breaking news report.