Nicholls to require masks indoors beginning Monday

Nicholls State University will require masks indoors beginning Monday, and urge anyone who can receive the vaccine to do so now.

Nicholls released the following statement on Friday:

Based on current guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), the following guidelines are being implemented starting Monday:

• Everyone must wear a mask inside campus buildings, regardless of vaccination status.
• Anyone who does not feel well should stay home, regardless of illness.
• If you contract COVID-19, fill out the COVID Test Reporting Form.
• Get tested immediately if you come into close contact with someone who has COVID-19. If you test negative, test again in five days.
• Masks are not required outdoors, but are strongly recommended for individuals who are not vaccinated.
• If you aren’t already vaccinated, we urge you to consider doing so. Visit vaccines.gov to find out where you can get vaccinated.

Dr. Jim Henderson, president of the University of Louisiana System, will release guidance for all UL System universities early next week, which will inform our planning for the Fall 2021 semester.

From 2-6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 5, LDH and the Louisiana National Guard will offer the Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Stopher Gym. If you haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccine, we strongly urge you to do so for your health and the health of those around you. If you have contracted COVID-19 recently or were required to quarantine due to close contact, in most cases you can now receive the vaccine once you are finished with your quarantine period of 14 days.

As of today, 70 percent of faculty and 61 percent of staff are fully vaccinated. Only 33 percent of our student population is fully vaccinated. We must do better. In the Bayou Region, 88.4 percent of the current COVID-19 hospitalization cases are people who are not vaccinated.

We look to each of you to help make the semester as normal as possible. If we all follow these guidelines, mask up and get vaccinated, we can.