West Virginia University Draws Back Mask Requirements

West Virginia University is lifting some of its masking requirements put in place to combat COVID-19 as the number of virus cases in the state is decreasing.

University officials announced Wednesday that masks will no longer be required in most indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

The university will still require masks in classrooms, labs and on-campus buses. Students and staff in health science fields and those who work with patients will still be required to wear masks indoors.

“At the start of this semester, given what we knew about the emerging omicron variant, we felt it was crucial to implement several measures to limit the potential spread of COVID-19, including a universal mask requirement,” Dr. Jeffrey Coben, dean of the School of Public Health and associate vice president for Health Affairs, said in a news release. “With numerous key data sources now indicating that cases are significantly declining across the state and within our community, we feel comfortable relaxing the mask requirements.”