March 14, 2022

UAF’s new face covering policy is adapting to evolving CDC guidance and with that comes change. Before spring break, all UAF locations were in yellow status, and guidance was provided for how we would approach mitigation efforts at UAF. We committed to updating guidance on the UAF homepage and UAF COVID-19 website and taking a week-by-week approach to masking. 

On March 7, another message was sent, with guidance to be consistent with CDC's “yellow” level, or mask-optional with limited mask requirements remaining. In this phase, we left masks required for the two weeks following spring break. However, as of Friday, March 11, the Bristol Bay Campus and UAF locations in the Fairbanks North Star Borough were at “green” level for masking. Based on the CDC recommendations, masking is optional in green. 

One point that caused some confusion this week was if masking was still required anywhere on the Fairbanks and Bristol Bay campuses while in green status. In green status, masks are optional at Fairbanks locations, as well as at the Bristol Bay campus, including classrooms, labs and Bunnell House. The only special exclusion is health providers, which for UAF is the Student Health and Counseling Center.

All other UAF locations remain at “yellow” level. Based on CDC recommendations, that means masks are optional with some requirements. As such, UAF sites remaining in yellow should continue to follow the guidance sent on March 7. 

You can find more information about UAF’s COVID-19 masking expectations on the UAF COVID-19 website. You can also check the UAF homepage for updates. 

As a reminder, our COVID-19 masking guidance is now based on the CDC’s COVID-19 community levels:

• Green/low - Masking is not required

• Yellow/medium - Masking is required in some settings, but mostly optional

• Orange/high - Masking is required indoors

We will be updating levels for each UAF location once a week on Friday. If you are unsure about masking expectations, please check the UAF COVID-19 dashboard for current levels by campus and additional information about when and where masks are required. In addition, a brief message will be sent to your email each Friday to inform you of the upcoming week’s status.