BSU/NTC President Faith C. Hensrud delivered the following message to all employees and students at Bemidji State University on Thursday, March 3.
Today I am announcing that beginning Friday, March 4, face coverings will no longer be required as a COVID-19 mitigation measure at Bemidji State University. This extends Tuesday evening’s announcement to encompass the entire campus.
Our announcement earlier this week was guided by recent changes to metrics used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by revised guidance from Minnesota State. While the decision to remove the mask mandate in two stages did cause confusion, we took this approach to address concerns from our employees that were shared in the wake of the Minnesota State system’s announcement.
We also understand that this change in our mitigation procedures will create new situations and challenges — which we will resolve together. To discuss the removal of our face covering requirement, you may consult with your Cabinet member if you are a member of our faculty or staff, or submit questions or comments using the “I Have a Question” form on our website:
https://www.bemidjistate.edu/coronavirus/i-have-a-question/
It is extremely important to note that this announcement does not mean the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. The virus remains present in our community, and I encourage you to continue taking appropriate steps to help mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19.
Understanding CDC’s Community Levels
Current Minnesota State policy indicates that campus requirements for usage of face coverings can be guided by a new CDC rating system called a Community Level, which was introduced on February 25.
The County Level indicates a new approach in which CDC augments measures of viral spread with metrics meant to track medically significant infections — those requiring hospitalizations — and strain on a local health care system.
CDC is maintaining an online tool which allows you to view County Level data for every county in the United States:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html
CDC also has an excellent resource which thoroughly explains the rationale behind the development of this new metric. This page explains in detail how a county’s level is determined:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/community-levels.html
As has been the case throughout this pandemic, conditions can change with very little notice. This has been another of those situations, and we appreciate your patience and flexibility as we collaborated with our employees to best implement this latest set of policy changes from the Minnesota State system.
Faith C. Hensrud, Ed.D
President
Bemidji State University & Northwest Technical College