The College Fix

Several college campuses and a large school district in California recently reinstated indoor masking requirements.

UC Irvine reinstated its indoor mask requirement as of Monday, July 18.

“All individuals on campus will be required to wear a mask or face covering while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, except when alone in an enclosed space,” the public institution stated in an announcement.

UCLA also reinstated its indoor mask policy in late June “and later extended the requirement until further notice,” the Los Angeles Times reported, adding “UCLA has also reinstated daily symptom monitoring for students and staff. Weekly COVID-19 testing is strongly recommended.”

“Continued increases in coronavirus cases fueled by the ultra-contagious BA.5 subvariant as well as a rise in hospitalizations have pushed L.A. County closer to reinstating a universal indoor mask mandate,” the newspaper added. “The reinstatement measure, which officials have long warned was on the table, could go into effect as soon as late July.”

Last week, the San Diego Unified School District, which enrolls more than 121,000 students and is the second largest district in California, also announced an indoor mask requirement starting Monday, July 18.

BREAKING: San Diego Unified School District to reimplement indoor masking for students and staff at all campuses and offices effective Monday July 18.

This as health experts are raising alarms on increasing cases throughout California. pic.twitter.com/FGv0misIQr

— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) July 16, 2022

“We will continue to monitor the COVID-19 community level according to the CDC and County data and we will communicate if there are any changes in two weeks,” the district notice stated.

MORE: Masks benefit men older than 89 years of age, but few others, study finds

IMAGE: Mike Dotta / Shutterstock

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