The following policies are based on known information about the COVID-19 virus, the effectiveness of available vaccines and treatments and public health recommendations. These policies will be adjusted as needed as public health professionals learn more about the vaccines and update their recommendations. Policies are in effect as of August 12, 2022.
We will continue to follow our Mount Safe Guiding Principles as we enter the third academic year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic:
This year is different from previous years, however, because of the availability of an effective treatment for COVID-19 (paxlovid), and a highly vaccinated population. Despite these promising signs, the number of COVID-related deaths continues to climb because many individuals, such as the elderly and immunocompromised, remain vulnerable to the disease. Therefore, the Mount will continue to follow CDC and Maryland Department of Health guidance that involves multiple layers of risk reduction strategies to promote the health and safety of our community. All employees and students are expected to adhere to these policies. (Note: These policies were revised on 8/12/2022 in response to a substantial change in CDC recommendations issued on 8/11/2022.)
The health and safety of our students, seminarians, and employees is our main priority. If you have any questions about these policies or concerns about safety or COVID-19, we encourage you to promptly report those concerns to the vice president and dean of students (esses@msmary.edu), the rector (baker@msmary.edu) or the executive director of human resources (k.hurley@msmary.edu).
The first layer of protection is careful monitoring of the external (Frederick County and Maryland) and internal environments so that we can anticipate outbreaks and respond accordingly.
The levels of the external and internal factors will inform the choice of the Mount Health Alert Levels (0-3) which, in turn, inform the policies that will be enacted.
Using multiple layers of risk mitigation strategies has proven to be effective at the Mount for reducing the transmission and containing outbreaks when they do occur. In the Fall 2022 semester, the key risk mitigation measures will be:
All students and seminarians taking any class on the main campus (Emmitsburg) are required to be fully vaccinated except for those with an approved exemption. For more information please view our Vaccine Policies.
Masks are not required. However, students should bring a supply of masks with them when returning to campus in August 2022 in the event that mask wearing is reinstated. Anyone who would like to wear a mask may continue to do so, is fully supported in their decision and should be treated with respect.
The Mount has procedures in place to isolate anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 and to perform contact tracing. Please see refer to information for students and employees.
Last updated August 12, 2022.