In compliance with Oregon’s new statewide indoor mask requirement, Linfield University is updating its face covering policy. Effective Friday, Aug. 13, face coverings will be required for all people, regardless of vaccination status, when inside any Linfield-owned or controlled building on the McMinnville or Portland campus.
“We aren’t out of the woods with COVID yet, and I wish we were,” said Patty Haddeland, director of the Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center. “The vaccine stops severe illness and death from COVID-19, and masks stop the spread of virus. In order to keep our community and loved ones safe, we need to employ strategies that have been scientifically effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19. It’s time to return to mask use.”
Face coverings are not required indoors in the following situations:
- inside a private residence hall room or apartment, with only roommates present;
- inside your own personal vehicle, with only members of a single household or “family unit”;
- actively eating or drinking;
- engaged in an essential activity that makes wearing a face covering not feasible (e.g., taking a shower or brushing your teeth); or,
- in a private, individual workspace when others are not present.
The requirement for wearing face coverings outdoors varies by vaccination status:
- For Linfield staff, faculty and students who are vaccinated, face coverings are not required when outdoors, but Linfield may require its community members to wear masks when in attendance at large events.
- Unvaccinated members of the Linfield community and all guests are required to wear face coverings outdoors when 6 feet of distance from others cannot be maintained.
Adjusting Linfield’s face covering policy is just one way that the Linfield community will be protecting itself against COVID-19 this fall.
The university announced its COVID-19 vaccine policy in May, and as of Aug. 11, approximately 92% of employees and 94% of students who have submitted their vaccine documentation are vaccinated. Any member of the Linfield community who is interested in getting vaccinated for COVID-19 can contact the Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center at 503-883-2535 or SHLT@linfield.edu for more information.
With the vaccination requirement, certain temporary COVID-19 policies were retracted. Classes, which were offered in a variety of ways last year, will all be offered on campus in 2021-22, with seating back to its original room capacities. In-person activities, including intercollegiate athletics, music ensembles and in-person student activities have resumed. And, while the enhanced cleaning policy was withdrawn, bottles of cleaning solution and hand sanitizer will continue to be stocked in high traffic areas around Linfield’s campuses.
The university is no longer administering large-scale COVID-19 surveillance testing; however, McMinnville campus students who may be showing symptoms of COVID-19 or who may have had an exposure are strongly encouraged to remain in their own room or apartment and to be tested for COVID-19 at the Student Health, Wellness and Counseling Center. Appointments can be made at 503-883-2535.
Earlier this week, Linfield updated its quarantine protocols based on the recommendation of the CDC, Oregon Health Authority and local health authorities. With this change, fully vaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 do not need to quarantine, but are advised to closely monitor their health, wear a mask indoors around other people for two weeks, and get tested 3-5 days after exposure. However, unvaccinated people who are exposed to COVID-19 will quarantine for 10-14 days based on the recommendation of the local health authority.
Anyone, regardless of vaccination status, who tests positive for COVID-19 is required to isolate following the guidance of the local health authority.
Numbers of confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the Linfield community are reported on the Linfield COVID-19 cases webpage and in Linfield Ahead.
“Linfield was very successful in managing COVID-19 on its campuses last academic year. This was in large part due to the wonderful cooperation of our students,” said Jeff Mackay, dean of students. “The entire Linfield community bought into keeping each other safe and making the best of this pandemic.”
Additional information about Linfield’s COVID-19 response can be found at linfield.edu/covid.
