UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester reinstated its indoor mask mandate on Thursday morning, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Worcester. Sarah Willey, media relations manager at UMass Chan, confirmed the resumption of the mandate in a phone call with Worcester Business Journal.
The mandate requires all employees, students, and visitors to wear masks inside buildings on the Worcester campus, and aligns with UMass Memorial Health’s mask requirement for all non-clinical areas. The reinstatement is effective immediately and will remain in effect until the end of May.
UMass Chan previously lifted its mask mandate in late February.
“We are taking this step to protect members of our academic community amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases statewide, in Worcester County and on our campus,” Willey said.
The announcement comes as cases in Worcester County have risen from to more than 400 per day, up from roughly 90 per day in mid-March, according to New York Times data. The White House on Thursday announced 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19.
