Southeast extends face covering order by 30 days

In a late afternoon email Wednesday to the Southeast Missouri State University campus, SEMO president Carlos Vargas announced the current mask mandate will be continued until at least Oct. 15.

The original Aug. 16 order, which applied "with some exceptions" in all university buildings regardless of a person's vaccination status, was to have expired today.

"With considerations about business continuity in mind and after receiving feedback from a number of campus constituents, I am extending the mask requirement," Vargas wrote in a statement.

Vargas, SEMO's president since 2015, said he received feedback from several constituencies, including the college's Emergency Response Team, in making the decision.

"In the weeks ahead, we will continue to monitor the number of active COVID cases on campus and in the community, as well as the number of students in quarantine/isolation on campus and other data that are pertinent to this topic," continued Vargas, noting administrators will pay attention, among other things, to local intensive care unit bed capacity and vaccination rates through mid-October.

According to SEMO's website, 15,410 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered through community vaccination events hosted at the Show Me Center and at the student recreation center.

Southeast's Wednesday COVID dashboard showed 48 active coronavirus cases, down from 62 on Tuesday -- 44 students and four university employees.

Additionally, the university reports 14 students are in quarantine or otherwise isolating on campus, down from 18 the day before.

Vargas announced earlier this month if a 70% inoculation rate is achieved by Nov. 1 among students, faculty and staff, SEMO will extend Thanksgiving break to a full week, from Nov. 22 to 26.

SEMO will finish the fourth week of the fall semester Friday.

Jeff Long is an adjunct faculty member at Southeast Missouri State University.