CLEVELAND — Editor's note: The video in the player above is from a story published on August 5, 2021.
On Sunday, Cleveland State University officials announced that masks will once again be required inside campus buildings, regardless of vaccination status, effective immediately.
"At the close of spring semester, we wrote to let you know that your commitment to ensuring a safe campus allowed us to plan to welcome faculty, staff and students back to campus for a full, "near-normal" campus experience this fall," officials said in a letter to staff and student Sunday.
Despite initial hopes, the letter goes on to state that CSU administrators have been carefully following the state of the coronavirus pandemic, and that a recent uptick in cases has led to the decision to require face coverings for all persons on campus.
"After consulting with public health officials and our campus community on recent trends, we now believe additional safety protocols are necessary to ensure we limit the spread of COVID-19 and stay on a path to have a collectively successful fall semester," officials said in an email to staff and students.
The decision comes as Cuyahoga County recently entered into a 'substantial' level of COVID-19 spread, as categorized by the CDC.
Additionally, CSU officials say that any unvaccinated person on campus is required to wear a mask outside on campus grounds when a proper six feet of social distancing is not possible.
For a full list of health and safety protocols in place at CSU, click here.
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