The University of Witwatersrand has announced that the wearing of masks on campus is no longer compulsory after the mask mandate along with other Covid-19 rules were lifted in South Africa.
After the number of Covid-19 cases in South Africa remained continuously low the government decided to lift its Covid-19 protocols that required people to wear their masks in indoor public places and limited the size of public gatherings.
Weeks since this happened, the University of Witwatersrand has released a statement in which it has announced that the wearing of masks on campus is now voluntary although those who are high-risk are encouraged to continue wearing their masks, especially when infections start to increase.
They are also looking to increase face-to-face learning in the second semester of the academic year with professional and administrative staff required to return to their respective workspaces on campus.
Head of Communications at the University, Shirona Patel said that the country’s new Covid-19 regulations would mean that Wits could have more students on campus in the second semester and have more people attend graduations and lectures.
Graduation ceremonies will now return to the University’s Great Hall which seats up to one thousand people.
Wits will however continue to enforce restrictions on student gatherings and events, particularly during the examination period.
Students and staff are also still required to adhere to the vaccination policy which remains mandatory in order to access the Wits premises.
The university’s statement read:
These protocols may change as the virus evolves, as regulations change, and as the science develops. We will review our policies, rules and regulations, and in particular our Mandatory Vaccination Policy, based on the best scientific evidence on hand, and following engagements with the relevant structures within the University.
As the country battles with load-shedding, the university says that it will monitor the power supply situation on campuses in the City of Johannesburg for a period of time to ensure that plans to return to campus are not compromised.
