Due to an increase in positive COVID-19 cases on campus, Messiah will be providing all students with KN95 masks beginning Wednesday morning. During morning classes, students will each receive a mask and view a video from President Kim Phipps and medical director, Betsey Miller, about reducing the spread of COVID-19.
As of August 31, Messiah’s campus community currently has 14 positive cases of COVID-19 including the infection of some vaccinated individuals. Because of the highly and quickly transmissible Delta variant, it is important to take action to stop the spread before the campus health system becomes overwhelmed.
KN95 masks are high-filtration masks that can reduce the need for contact tracing. Although students are not required to wear the KN95 masks, they are encouraged to wear them instead of cloth or disposable masks.
Students who are unable to receive a mask on Wednesday can obtain one through their residence director, in the commuter lounge, or at the dispatch office. If a student’s mask becomes wet or soiled, they may get a new one from any of these locations.
Recently, two other Christian universities moved to online classes due to the spread of the Delta variant. Messiah administration believes that with the use of these new masks, students will be able to continue this semester in person with fewer mitigation measures than last year.