Please see the message below
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"From: Glenn DuBois
Date: August 4, 2021 at 9:48:33 AM
To: VCCS Presidents
Cc: System_cabinet
Subject: COVID - CDC guidance update
Dear VCCS Presidents:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began we have repeatedly stated our shared commitment to the safety of our students, faculty, and staff and to make safety-related decisions based on the best guidance of healthcare professionals. The rise of the virus’s easily transmitted Delta variant is requiring us, once again, to reconsider what is necessary to continue to pursue our academic mission as safely as possible.
To that end, recent CDC guidance calls for: (1) layered prevention strategies at Americas colleges and universities to combat COVID-19, and (2) for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.
Though dynamic, all of Virginia’s Community Colleges serve localities that have, in recent days, shown substantial or high transmission rates. In keeping with CDC guidance and out of respect for the health and safety of individuals on our campuses, I am implementing an indoor mask mandate for public indoor spaces at our colleges. I call on you to implement this mandate in a manner that best matches your college, including allowing for instructors to remove masks when instructing students from a safe distance or from behind a plexiglass barrier.
Together, we will continue to monitor the public health of our community and guidance from authoritative sources, like the CDC and revisit this mandate when needed.
Thank you for all that you are doing to continue to support the health of your community, including actively encouraging vaccination.
Sincerely,
Glenn DuBois,
Chancellor"
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"From: Glenn DuBois
Date: August 4, 2021 at 9:48:33 AM
To: VCCS Presidents
Cc: System_cabinet
Subject: COVID - CDC guidance update
Dear VCCS Presidents:
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began we have repeatedly stated our shared commitment to the safety of our students, faculty, and staff and to make safety-related decisions based on the best guidance of healthcare professionals. The rise of the virus’s easily transmitted Delta variant is requiring us, once again, to reconsider what is necessary to continue to pursue our academic mission as safely as possible.
To that end, recent CDC guidance calls for: (1) layered prevention strategies at Americas colleges and universities to combat COVID-19, and (2) for fully vaccinated people to wear a mask in public indoor settings in areas of substantial or high transmission.
Though dynamic, all of Virginia’s Community Colleges serve localities that have, in recent days, shown substantial or high transmission rates. In keeping with CDC guidance and out of respect for the health and safety of individuals on our campuses, I am implementing an indoor mask mandate for public indoor spaces at our colleges. I call on you to implement this mandate in a manner that best matches your college, including allowing for instructors to remove masks when instructing students from a safe distance or from behind a plexiglass barrier.
Together, we will continue to monitor the public health of our community and guidance from authoritative sources, like the CDC and revisit this mandate when needed.
Thank you for all that you are doing to continue to support the health of your community, including actively encouraging vaccination.
Sincerely,
Glenn DuBois,
Chancellor"