Penn State lifts indoor mask mandate and pauses required COVID-19 testing

Indoor masking will be optional starting March 23.

• By Madeline Miller/ WPSU

Penn State announced that starting on March 23 indoor masking will be optional on campus. President Eric Barron said the university decided to ease its mask mandate due to high vaccination rates in the Penn State community and “low” COVID-19 Community Levels in the state, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rankings.

In addition to optional masking, the university announced that starting on March 26, mandated COVID-19 testing will no longer be required.

Masking will still be required in certain areas, including the university’s health care facilities and on public transportation, and at the College of Medicine. And faculty can request that their classes wear masks.

Voluntary testing and quarantine space will remain available to students. But Penn State says employees should find outside options for COVID testing.

Vaccinations are still required for employees who work in health care facilities, and the university continues to encourage the Penn State community to get vaccinated and boosted.

The lifted mask mandate is subject to change. Penn State will continue to monitor COVID-19 through its wastewater management project and follow CDC guidelines.

Penn State will stop updating its COVID-19 dashboard beginning on April 7.