MEMORANDUM

To:                    The Dalhousie University community

From:                Frank Harvey, Provost and Vice-President Academic

Date:                Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Re:                   COVID update: Changes to mask guidance as of June 10

Effective Friday, June 10, Dalhousie’s mask guidance will change to align with that of Nova Scotia more broadly.

Masks will no longer be formally required in indoor common spaces on campus. However, masks will continue to be strongly recommended and welcome in all spaces where they have been worn over the past two years, including classrooms, research labs, libraries, study spaces, hallways, athletics facilities, etc.

The exception to this revised guidance is in health-care settings and contexts:

• Students, faculty and staff in Faculties that intersect with health-care settings (Medicine, Health and Dentistry) may be subject to enhanced health and safety requirements, including continued masking, and can expect to receive more specific instructions from their respective Faculties.

• Masks will still be required at Student Health and Wellness clinics in Halifax and Truro, as well as at the Dalhousie Dental Clinic.

We continue to encourage all members of our university community to take appropriate steps to support their individual health and wellness — including mask wearing, if appropriate — particularly if they are at higher risk of illness. Just as we’re seeing in Nova Scotia more broadly, we expect some will continue masking in certain settings while others will not, and we ask everyone to be appreciative and respectful of one another’s choices in this regard.

As we have done throughout the pandemic, we continue to consult closely with Nova Scotia Public Health and will be prepared to re-implement enhanced COVID safety measures in the future if required.

Please continue to stay home if you feel unwell, get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19, and get vaccinated/boosted as vaccines are available to you. For the latest information and instruction on all these topics, visit the Nova Scotia Health website.

On behalf of Dalhousie faculty, staff, students and our entire community, I would like to thank all of you for your support and compliance with our COVID guidelines throughout the pandemic. We know these commitments have required considerable sacrifice and we are grateful for your contributions to our collective health and safety.

Sincerely,

Frank Harvey
Provost and Vice-President Academic

Dalhousie University is located in Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi`kmaq. We are all treaty people.

We recognize that African Nova Scotians are a distinct people whose histories, legacies and contributions have enriched that part of Mi’kma’ki known as Nova Scotia for over 400 years.