BEMIDJI -- Bemidji State and Northwest Technical College have extended their mask mandate, which was set to expire last week, and will remain in place through at least Jan. 31.
According to the BSU website, the masking requirement for all people in indoor, public spaces at both campuses was extended in response to COVID-19 transmission levels for Beltrami County and guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The site also mentioned that it's highly likely that the mandate will be extended beyond Jan. 31 due to predicted nationwide COVID peaks resulting from the Omicron variant.
"However, given the positive current trend and knowing the level of COVID fatigue on our campuses, the decision was made to extend the mandate only through Jan. 31 and give us another opportunity to reevaluate conditions in the county," a release said.
Both campuses mandated masks ahead of the school year starting Aug. 9 , with an original end date of Aug. 31, unless Beltrami County reached and remained at a substantial spread of COVID for a period of fourteen consecutive days, or immediately upon high levels of spread.
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The mandate was then extended through Oct. 1 and reevaluated on Sept. 27, after which masks were mandated for the remainder of the fall semester.
More information on BSU and NTC’s COVID mitigation measures can be found at www.bemidjistate.edu and www.ntcmn.edu .
