Editor's Note: This article has been updated with a response from the University.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the D.C.’s indoor mask mandate will lift on Monday.
Bowser said masks will still be required, regardless of vaccination status, in private businesses that want to keep a mask requirement, on public transit and rideshare vehicles, inside schools, child care facilities and libraries, in congregate living facilities and at D.C. government facilities where there is direct interaction between employees and the public, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles.
According to Elizabeth Deal, the assistant vice president for community and internal communication, American University is maintaining the current mask requirement on campus.
“Along with our vaccine requirement, testing, and contact tracing, masking has directly contributed to low COVID cases throughout the semester and single digit numbers of COVID cases in our community over the past several weeks," Deal wrote in an email to The Eagle. "As we head into the holiday season, with increased travel and gatherings, it is likely that overall case numbers nationally and in the DC area will rise. We want to ensure our community remains as safe as possible, and continued masking supports that effort.”
The district reinstated its mask mandate over the summer as cases of the Delta variant caused rising COVID-19 cases.
Bowser emphasized the efficacy of vaccines in her announcement and said that these new guidelines account for current health metrics and a person’s vaccination status.
The district currently has a vaccination rate of 76.2 percent of eligible residents currently or partially vaccinated. More than 98 percent of the AU community is fully vaccinated.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
