Johns Hopkins University is revising its safety protocols ahead of the start of the spring semester as it prepares to resume a broad range of in-person academic, research, and other activities as safely as possible amid the surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant, university leaders said Friday.
The most noticeable change is to the university’s masking requirement: JHU will now require the use of N95s, KN95s, or a combination of a cloth mask with a surgical mask. In other words, a cloth mask alone or a surgical mask alone will no longer meet the university’s mask requirement, wrote Stephen Gange, professor and executive vice provost for academic affairs; Jon Links, professor, vice provost, and chief risk officer; and Kevin Shollenberger, vice provost for student health and well-being and interim vice provost for student affairs in a message to the JHU community on Jan. 14.