By JESS VERMEULEN
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
Ball State University will continue to require masks on campus after April 6. The school will also not change current COVID-19 safety protocols, the president of the university announced.
“While I am encouraged by the low rate of infection among the members of our campus community, I think it is prudent for us to maintain our current protocols throughout the remainder of the Spring semester, including during our Commencement exercises in early May,” said BSU President Geoffrey Mearns in an email to students on Thursday.
On April 6, Indiana’s mask mandate will turn into a mask advisory and it will be up to counties, local health departments and individual businesses to require people to wear a mask.
Mearns said he sought advice from the school’s representative committee before making the decision to not change current health and safety protocols at BSU. The committee is working to create a proposal for a phased plan to safely bring the BSU community back to normal. That plan is expected to be presented to the school’s Board of Trustees on May 7.
In the meantime, Mearns is urging all students, staff, and faculty to get a coronavirus vaccine.
“We are developing plans to incentivize all faculty, staff, and students to be vaccinated before the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester,” he said.
Mearns said anyone who receives a vaccination before the plan is finalized will still be eligible for the incentives.