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General Ohio University Discussion/Alumni Events Topic
Topic: Masks
Page: 1 of 1
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Andrew Ruck
9/2/2022 9:55 AM
I'm not trying to start a fight, but I saw a post of a letter threatening disciplinary action to a student for not wearing a mask dated September 1, 2022. This blew my mind because I was unaware the the University was still clinging to a mask mandate. Is this true? Are there any other universities in the state (country?) with this policy still?
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BillyTheCat
9/2/2022 10:11 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
I'm not trying to start a fight, but I saw a post of a letter threatening disciplinary action to a student for not wearing a mask dated September 1, 2022. This blew my mind because I was unaware the the University was still clinging to a mask mandate. Is this true? Are there any other universities in the state (country?) with this policy still?
I believe Athens is in the yellow level at the moment for Covid.

https://www.ohio.edu/coronavirus/safety-protocols-ppe/mas...
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Kinggeorge4
9/2/2022 10:36 AM
They had only been requiring them in class.
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rpbobcat
9/2/2022 11:05 AM
From reading the articles in The Post over the Summer, in July, Athens had a High Community Level for Coivd infections (Positive Test Results) so O.U. put in place a policy requiring masks in indoor spaces.

Then when the Community Level went to Medium, O.U. dropped the indoor mask requirement.

But, they said it was subject to change ,based on changes in Community Levels.

This could take place weekly.

According to The Post , on August 26 the Community Level went back to "High" so that would mean indoor masking came back.

Sounds just a bit confusing.

As I wrote the reporter who wrote the article, I live in NJ which , was the epicenter of the first wave of covid.

Most of the State was at "High Community Level" most of the Summer.

All that means were a lot of people tested positive.

New Jersey took the position that hospitalizations, especially ICU patients and vents were steady, so there wasn't any need to even consider masking.

Now, with no changes in policy, a big part of NJ if down to "Low Community Level".
With a couple of exceptions the rest of the state is "Medium Community Level"

Maybe O.U. should consider something similar, especially I don't think Athens is requiring masking.
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shabamon
9/2/2022 2:57 PM
rpbobcat wrote:expand_more
New Jersey took the position that hospitalizations, especially ICU patients and vents were steady, so there wasn't any need to even consider masking.

Now, with no changes in policy, a big part of NJ if down to "Low Community Level".
With a couple of exceptions the rest of the state is "Medium Community Level"

Maybe O.U. should consider something similar, especially I don't think Athens is requiring masking.
It's beyond time for the rest of the country to take this approach.

The last couple years are a bit of a blur, so forgive me for forgetting, but is OU permitted to require Covid vaccination in order to attend classes on campus? If so, are we doing that? If so, what's the purpose of a mask anymore?

Ever since vaccines became widely available and it's no longer difficult to find an open time slot, any sort of mask requirement has been unnecessary.
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mid70sbobcat
9/2/2022 9:59 PM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
New Jersey took the position that hospitalizations, especially ICU patients and vents were steady, so there wasn't any need to even consider masking.

Now, with no changes in policy, a big part of NJ if down to "Low Community Level".
With a couple of exceptions the rest of the state is "Medium Community Level"

Maybe O.U. should consider something similar, especially I don't think Athens is requiring masking.
It's beyond time for the rest of the country to take this approach.

The last couple years are a bit of a blur, so forgive me for forgetting, but is OU permitted to require Covid vaccination in order to attend classes on campus? If so, are we doing that? If so, what's the purpose of a mask anymore?

Ever since vaccines became widely available and it's no longer difficult to find an open time slot, any sort of mask requirement has been unnecessary.
Not sure I follow your logic. Are you implying if vaccinated then mask = meaningless?

The recent variants out there seem to evade the vaccines to date. A good friend of mine, both shots and both boosters, who is a fit guy got Covid 4 months ago and was in bed 11 days. He was a retired doctor who neglected to wear a mask when in Wash DC sightseeing.

My sister was on campus today having a birthday lunch with my nephew and she was in and out of academic buildings and she said masks were not required apparently.
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rpbobcat
9/8/2022 9:18 AM
Andrew Ruck wrote:expand_more
I'm not trying to start a fight, but I saw a post of a letter threatening disciplinary action to a student for not wearing a mask dated September 1, 2022. This blew my mind because I was unaware the the University was still clinging to a mask mandate. Is this true? Are there any other universities in the state (country?) with this policy still?
There's a "banner" in today's The Post saying that Athens is at a ""Medium " Covid 19 level.

If you click on the banner, the article says "Ohio University's Covid 19 protocols directly respond to guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention..."

Then it says for a "High" (Orange) Level masks are "Strongly Recommended".

No mention of "required".

So , if O.U. is in fact following CDC Guidelines, the student wasn't doing
anything wrong.

If O.U. is saying masks are required in indoor settings, when Community Levels are "High" ,then they aren't following DCD Guidelines.

It can't be both.
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shabamon
9/8/2022 10:32 AM
mid70sbobcat wrote:expand_more
New Jersey took the position that hospitalizations, especially ICU patients and vents were steady, so there wasn't any need to even consider masking.

Now, with no changes in policy, a big part of NJ if down to "Low Community Level".
With a couple of exceptions the rest of the state is "Medium Community Level"

Maybe O.U. should consider something similar, especially I don't think Athens is requiring masking.
It's beyond time for the rest of the country to take this approach.

The last couple years are a bit of a blur, so forgive me for forgetting, but is OU permitted to require Covid vaccination in order to attend classes on campus? If so, are we doing that? If so, what's the purpose of a mask anymore?

Ever since vaccines became widely available and it's no longer difficult to find an open time slot, any sort of mask requirement has been unnecessary.
Not sure I follow your logic. Are you implying if vaccinated then mask = meaningless?

The recent variants out there seem to evade the vaccines to date. A good friend of mine, both shots and both boosters, who is a fit guy got Covid 4 months ago and was in bed 11 days. He was a retired doctor who neglected to wear a mask when in Wash DC sightseeing.

My sister was on campus today having a birthday lunch with my nephew and she was in and out of academic buildings and she said masks were not required apparently.
No I'm saying that when vaccines weren't available or it was difficult to get an appointment, the best mitigation effort aside from capacity limitations was masks. Today, you can get an appointment for your toddler at Walgreens this afternoon. The best mitigation effort is widely available and free. That's where the mitigation focus should be, not reintroducing mask requirements.

And hospitalizations and deaths are steadily flat everywhere in this country, so why do people still freak out about rising cases? A case shouldn't mean anything if it's not the cause of something that incurs cost to the rest of society, like an occupied hospital bed or a death.

Now the pandemic isn't going to be truly over until the immunocompromised people can live their lives in society relatively free of Covid risk, but coronavirus isn't the only airborne pathogen out there. No one should admonish others for choosing to wear masks going forward, but I just don't see the point in requiring masks to mitigate Covid anymore.
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rpbobcat
9/8/2022 11:03 AM
shabamon wrote:expand_more
And hospitalizations and deaths are steadily flat everywhere in this country, so why do people still freak out about rising cases? A case shouldn't mean anything if it's not the cause of something that incurs cost to the rest of society, like an occupied hospital bed or a death.
[/QUOTE]My dad's doctor was talking about this back in the Spring.

He said all a positive test means is that the are Covid cells in your nose.
It doesn't mean you'll get sick.

In fact, he said with so much Covid in the air, he's more surprised when
someone comes back with a negative test.

[QUOTE=shabamon]

Now the pandemic isn't going to be truly over until the immunocompromised people can live their lives in society relatively free of Covid risk, but coronavirus isn't the only airborne pathogen out there. No one should admonish others for choosing to wear masks going forward, but I just don't see the point in requiring masks to mitigate Covid anymore.
Covid is going to around for the foreseeable future.

They're still seeing remnants of the 1918 Spanish Flu in some people.

Any airborne pathogen, even the Flu, can be deadly, especially if you are immunocompromised.

I had a meeting with a client yesterday.
He has Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Needs an Oxygen Concentrator.

He was double masked.
I asked if he'd like me to wear one.
He said no, he wears it to make his wife feel better.

I agree 100% that, if a person wants to wear a mask, that's up to them.

But
A. Wear it properly

B. You don't need it if you're alone in a car
Last Edited: 9/8/2022 11:11:48 AM by rpbobcat
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