Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals are again required to wear masks while inside University buildings, unless they are eating or drinking or alone in a private room alone with the door closed.

The change was announced via email on August 1, reversing a decision two weeks earlier to permit fully vaccinated individuals to be in University buildings without a mask on. The reversal follows changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, which now suggest vaccinated people should wear masks in indoor public areas to limit the spread of the virus’s Delta variant. 

The Chicago Department of Public Health also recommended everyone wear masks in indoor public areas, regardless of vaccination status, on July 30. This announcement also followed the CDC’s changes to its guidelines and a 30.49 percent increase in daily cases in Cook County between July 1 and August 1.

People are not required to wear face coverings while outdoors on campus, but the University may require masks be worn at “certain outdoor events and programming.”