In-person classes and activities will resume at Indiana University on Jan. 10 amid a statewide surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
In a statement Wednesday, the university said the decision was “carefully considered” and it will continue to “aggressively manage the health and safety” of its campuses.
IU requires all its students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with very limited exceptions. It’s now incentivizing students to get booster shots by giving them a $20 CrimsonCard credit.
In addition to on-campus testing sites, the university says it will implement drop-off testing, where students, faculty and staff can drop off their own saliva samples. Drop-off testing began as a pilot project at IU Southeast but will be expanded to residential campuses this semester.
The university is maintaining its masking policy and advises students to wear KN95 or surgical masks instead of cloth masks for better protection.
According to IU’s COVID dashboard, 90 percent of students and 94 percent of faculty are at least partially vaccinated as of Dec. 23. However, about 113,000 Hoosiers have experienced breakthrough infections.
IU advises those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to isolate for five days and cooperate with contact tracers to stop the virus spread. Isolation may end on day six if asymptomatic. An isolation period of 10 days or more is required with prolonged fever and persistent symptoms.
