USC will require masks again amid coronavirus surge, president says

With a rise in coronavirus spread, the University of South Carolina is requiring all students, faculty and staff, regardless of being vaccinated or note, to wear masks inside campus buildings, interim President Harry Pastides said Friday.

Pastides made the call after the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control recommended that people wear masks indoors and in areas with high transmission of the virus. Richland County has high transmission by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s standards.

Masks will not be required outdoors on the school’s campus, in dorm rooms, private offices or while eating in dining halls, Pastides said.

“I’m disappointed that these measures are necessary, as we hoped for different circumstances when we came back together,” he said. “As the pandemic evolves we will continue to face some challenges, but I’m confident that our Carolina family will do the right thing and take these measures seriously so that we can relax these requirements as soon as conditions allows.”

Pastides encouraged people to get vaccinated in his statement. USC’s fall semester is set to begin Aug. 19.

Mask requirements in schools have been a hot issue in South Carolina. While DHEC and the CDC are recommending masking in schools, a new law passed by doesn’t allow districts to require masks. Whether that law will undermine USC’s mask mandate is yet to be foreseen. Gov. Henry McMaster called masking mandates “the height of ridiculosity” and said it is up to parents whether their kids wear masks or not.

Cases of COVID-19 have spike in South Carolina in recent weeks with the outbreak of the delta variant. The state has had thousands of new infections reported in the July 26 week for the first time since February. The vast majority of those being infected, hospitalized and dying are people who are unvaccinated, DHEC said.