Novel coronavirus information

August 15, 2022

King and Pierce counties move to “low” CDC community level, masks are recommended

The University of Washington’s mask policy continues to be guided by the Centers for Disease Control’s community level assessment and state and local health guidance. King and Pierce counties recently moved to the “low” community level category and have stayed in that category for more than a week.

As a result of this improvement in the COVID-19 situation, the UW has moved to masks being recommended inside all University facilities where they aren’t otherwise required. Masks had been strongly recommended while King and Pierce counties were in the “medium” category.

Masks continue to be required in health-care and clinical facilities. This includes the Health Sciences Express, UW/Fred Hutch South Lake Union and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance shuttles.

Masks should be well fitted and high quality, such as N95, KN95, KF94 and surgical masks. These types of masks protect the wearer better than a cloth face covering and we will continue to make them available at no cost on each campus during the coming quarters.

Should one or both counties move back into the “medium” or “high” categories, or we experience increases in campus transmission and/or the emergence of a more virulent variant, our mask policy will be reevaluated.