Minnesota universities requiring masks on campuses

Minnesota’s public colleges and universities will require masks to be worn on all campuses as the delta variant of the coronavirus surges, according to The Associated Press.

The University of Minnesota made the announcement Monday, instructing all students, staff and visitors to wear masks indoors as of Tuesday, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated.

“Wearing a mask or facial covering indoors has been shown to slow the transmission of COVID-19 and, as we saw as a nation, virtually eliminate other airborne illnesses like the flu,” University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel said in a statement. 

The university’s decision comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued updated guidance last week that advised fully vaccinated people to wear masks in “public, indoor settings.”

The University of Minnesota is the latest of a number of U.S. colleges and universities to require masks amid the surging delta variant.

Duke University, the University of Memphis and Nevada’s public higher education institutions all recently announced that they will require masks indoors. Some U.S. colleges have also announced a vaccine mandate for students ahead of the start of the school year in the fall.