JHU testing and masking update

Note: This letter originally appeared as an email sent to the Hopkins community on April 22, 2022.

Dear Johns Hopkins Community:

We are pleased to have reached the final weeks of the academic year. Your adherence to university COVID-19 safety protocols has made a real difference in JHU’s ability to continue in-person educational, research, and community service opportunities this spring while protecting the health of everyone on and around our campuses. We now want to make sure everyone is clear about our COVID-19 testing plans and mask requirements for the coming weeks.

In an April 6 email to undergraduate students, following increased case numbers after spring break, we explained that we were temporarily moving to twice-weekly testing for all undergraduate students through April 22. We also reinstated masking for all people in common areas of residence halls and in university dining facilities in addition to required masking in classrooms.

We have continued to monitor the situation, and while cases among our undergraduate students have decreased, COVID levels in JHU affiliates and the Baltimore community remain elevated, and so we are moving forward cautiously.

• We are extending the twice-weekly testing for undergraduates, and the current indoor masking rules, for another week, until the last day of Homewood undergraduate classes on April 30.
• From May 1 through Commencement on May 22, we will return to testing once a week for undergraduates and graduate students who are on campus. We will also resume the indoor masking policy as it was described on March 9 and is detailed on the coronavirus information website.
• On May 23, as we transition to summer, we will suspend mandatory asymptomatic testing for on-campus students who have received vaccinations and boosters. We have been working closely with summer program staff who will distribute expectations for their individual programs to their participants. We expect to be entirely mask-optional during the summer, but as noted in our April 13 message, there may be times when we require parts of our campus to use face coverings in certain circumstances.
• Those who have been granted exceptions from the vaccination mandate are still required to wear masks indoors and test twice per week for the remainder of the semester and during the summer.

School of Medicine affiliates will continue to follow Johns Hopkins Medicine policies.

We encourage you to seek out further information at https://covidinfo.jhu.edu and to continue to be cautious and aware of any potential COVID symptoms. If you test positive, call the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Call Center (JHCCC) at 443-287-8500 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week, for assistance.

Thank you for your attention to our COVID guidance this year. We wish you all a safe and healthy summer.

Sincerely,

Stephen Gange
Professor and Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Jon Links
Professor, Vice Provost, and Chief Risk Officer

Kevin Shollenberger
Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being