PCC recently announced that its indoor mask mandate will no longer be in effect for the Spring 2023 semester in a Nov. 28 email.
These policies will instead be relaxed by having masking be strongly recommended rather than required in crowded indoor public spaces.
This announcement comes at a pivotal time as Covid-19 cases, hospital admissions, and deaths are trending upwards as a part of a winter surge across the United States in conjunction with the regular flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) seasons.
PCC is following the lead of the Pasadena Health Department, who has responded to this surge by returning to strongly recommending indoor masking in a Sep. 27 order. The LA County Health Department also made a similar recommendation in a Nov. 17 announcement.
This change has caused some members of the PCC community, like freshman Melanie Almendras, to recognize how there is a personal choice to masking but also how PCC should be taking preventative measures rather than follow other institutions.
“I do prefer wearing masks,” Almendras said. “But, at the end of the day, it depends on the person and whether they feel comfortable wearing one. I do feel like either way, safe or not, I do prefer them taking more precaution to ensure safety.”
Other students like freshman nursing major Chrystal Diaz emphasize that, while people are currently following the mandate, there also is a desire to make masking optional.
“I don’t really care about wearing a mask,” Diaz said. “I wear it because it’s required. I have met a lot of people who say that they prefer not to wear a mask because they don’t like it.”
Other people like freshman computer science major Johann Palacio question whether the structural support of PCC’s Covid testing is ready to handle this change.
“They should make it more accessible,” Palacio said. “The schedules are limited and some days you can only go at certain times. Other days you have to go to a different place to take a test.”
The current indoor mask mandate will remain in effect for until the end of Fall 2022 semester on Dec. 18. The new masking policies will take effect the first day of the Spring 2023 semester on Jan. 9. The college’s Covid Testing Resources will remain available for all students and employees to use.
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