Face coverings no longer required
emergency policy lifted May 17, 2021
ETSU no longer requires fully vaccinated individuals to wear face coverings on campus. Anyone who has not been vaccinated or wishes to continue wearing a face covering in public spaces is encouraged to do so.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, East Tennessee State University has followed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to inform our decision-making process in regards to restrictions, recommendations and other changes to university operations. This approach has yielded encouraging results in keeping ETSU and our communities safe as evidenced by the low COVID-19 incidence rates we experienced across campus during the past year.
Given the recent recommendations recently released by the CDC, ETSU is lifting its emergency COVID-19 policy on face coverings that was put into place last year.
New Guidance on Face Coverings
- ETSU students, faculty, staff and visitors to the university who have been fully vaccinated (two weeks past their final vaccine dose) are not required to wear face coverings, and also are not required to observe physical distancing.
- Persons who have not been fully vaccinated should continue wearing face coverings and following physical distancing guidelines.
- Any member of the university community who has been fully vaccinated but wishes to continue wearing a face covering is encouraged to do so and we ask that you provide a supportive culture for those who continue this practice.
- Individuals should not ask a person’s COVID-19 vaccination status or use information about a person’s vaccination status to make decisions about participating in classroom or workplace activities.
- While our face covering requirements are being lifted for persons who have been fully vaccinated, face coverings will continue to be required in some locations, including all of our ETSU Health clinical sites, which is also consistent with CDC recommendations.
- University School will continue to operate within its current COVID-19 guidelines.
COVID-19 Vaccine Information Frequently Asked Questions