Since the beginning of the spring semester, Syracuse University has been doing a great job enforcing the vaccine and booster requirements before campus arrival. Faculty and students were updated consistently through emails, ensuring the required vaccinations and proof of vaccination requirements were to be uploaded to the Patient Portal for the arrival of the spring 2022 semester.

On Feb. 9, 2022, the Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the statewide indoor business mask-or-vaccine requirement will be lifted starting Feb. 10, and it will remain optional for businesses, local governments and counties to enforce.

The relaxation on masking guidelines allows freedom for businesses, cities and more to adapt to their own rules regarding COVID-19. New York counties and businesses can now create their own regulations, and some counties and cities have fewer active cases than others. In addition, businesses no longer have to require proof of vaccinations and it is completely up to the business to decide on their own COVID-19 guidelines.

Through this announcement, Hochul has shown passion in supporting the health and safety of New Yorkers by increasing access to vaccines, booster shots, COVID-19 testing, masks and more. But the decision to loosen COVID-19 guidelines was made too soon.

Hochul has thoroughly supported her decision through scientific evidence and through presenting the current status of COVID-19 in New York state before coming to this conclusion. Although case counts and hospitalizations are declining, there were still over 2,000 new COVID-19 detected Tuesday.

Although Hochul has lifted mask mandates for businesses, local governments and counties, for the safety of Syracuse as a city, SU should take preventative measures and implement its own restrictions based on the status of COVID-19 cases on campus.

Currently, COVID-19 cases have decreased overall on campus, and as of today Feb. 16, 2022, there are 71 active cases, 29 of which are new cases. Although this negative trend in COVID-19 cases is good news, maintaining this level of safety for the future means that mask mandates should not be lifted any time soon.

The faculty and students should do their part to wear masks at all times to not only prevent themselves from getting sick but also to keep the Syracuse community and those who are at higher risks of COVID-19 safe. Because many SU community members go off campus, local businesses in Syracuse — especially in the university area — should continue to require proof of vaccination to protect the safety of the entire community and not just our campus.

Even with less restrictive COVID-19 guidelines, SU should continue to promote mask wearing at all times when indoors, especially in big group settings. In addition, COVID-19 testing should be consistently available on campus in future years, and faculty and students should be required to test for COVID-19 on a regular basis as well as before and after large gatherings.

Because masks are one of the most effective ways to prevent spreading COVID-19, they should be worn on campus for another year or until active cases in the community are down to the single digits. With COVID-19 cases certainly declining yet still showing unexpected spikes, the entire Syracuse community needs to do their part by getting tested, wearing masks and isolating with a positive test result for COVID-19 to eventually come to a halt.

Chaeri Chun is a freshman sociology and neuroscience double major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at cchun02@syr.edu.

Published on February 16, 2022 at 8:41 pm