University of Northampton Reintroduces Mask Mandate

Due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases nationally, the University of Northampton has decided to make face coverings in all buildings mandatory again, as of Monday, October 25.

As a result, all employees and students at the university should wear face coverings in all university buildings, whereas at the halls of residence or sport and activity venues, students and staff are not required to wear masks, Erudera.com reports.

According to a statement issued by the university, the mask mandate has been reintroduced as a precautionary measure in response to the changing local and national picture, in an effort to keep students and staff safe while at the university.

“As a precautionary measure and in response to the changing local and national picture, the use of face coverings will become mandatory in all University buildings, with the exception of non-communal space in halls of residence and sport and activity venues such as the Sports Dome,” the university’s statement reads.

The university further stated that the face coverings should be used in all classrooms, in addition to working areas where it is impossible to maintain the social distancing.

“It is instead to reduce the spread of the virus, protect students and staff, and safeguard the teaching and learning experience that we all hold so dear,” it noted.

The executive director of estates and campus services, Becky Bradshaw, told BBC Radio Northampton that students and staff have reacted positively to the face-covering mandate, adding that the same requirement was introduced in September last year before masks became nationally compulsory.

According to her, the university has decided to make this step just now in order to preserve the face-to-face contact, describing the decision as the most sensible and practicable one.

There were about 12,500 students at the University of Northampton during the 2020/21 academic year.

While students and staff at the University of Northampton are facing mask mandates, students and employees at other universities across the world are facing tougher restrictions. According to Erudera’s University Vaccine Requirement Checker, in the United States, some of the top universities are requiring students and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or to show negative test results, including:

• Princeton University
• Stanford University
• Yale University
• Columbia University
• New York University
• University of Chicago
• University of Washington
• Michigan State University
• Ohio State University
• Virginia State University
• University of Cincinnati
• Rutgers University
• Johns Hopkins University
• Duke University
• University of Pennsylvania