SUNY Purchase Is Again Requiring Masks Inside All School Buildings

PURCHASE, NY — School officials at Purchase College have opted to return to a mask mandate in all indoor spaces on campus.

In an email sent to students, faculty and staff this weekend, school officials said the move was made because "Westchester County is now in an area of high transmission of COVID-19." In response to the COVID community level of "orange," a return to an indoor mask mandate was triggered. The move also restores stricter testing and isolation recommendations.

"Unfortunately, Westchester County is now an area of high transmission for COVID," school officials said in a statement about the new policy released on social media. "We have also recently seen more cases on campus."

SUNY campuses may determine their own indoor mask mandates by consulting with their local health department and assessing the COVID conditions on their campus and in the surrounding community, according to SUNY's statewide policy put in effect during the pandemic. Campuses may require daily health screenings or other protocols at their discretion.