ATLANTA (WUPA) – Atlanta-based Morris Brown College announced that the school will reinstate its Covid mask mandate for the next two weeks following cases at the Atlanta University Center.
The traditionally black school posted a note on its official Instagram account saying the protocols would be in place for the next 14 days. This includes mandatory masking for students and staff, physical distancing, contact tracing, and other efforts to slow the spread of Covid-19 among the Atlanta campus population.
A post shared via Morris Brown College (@morrisbrownatl)
Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control indicates that a new variant of Covid has become more prevalent in Georgia, with hospitalizations expanding by as much as 30% statewide.
“That’s what endemic means: It doesn’t go away,” said Dr. Brown. Jayne Morgan, executive director of fitness and network education, Piedmont Healthcare. “We now know that with this heatwave, many other people have been forced to stay at home, while we are outside regularly. We also travel a lot during the summer, so we transmit the virus from one organization to another. “
Medical experts said they were tracking new variants such as EG. 5, which the World Health Organization has decided is an attractive variant.
Morgan says vaccinations, hand hygiene, knowing when to wear a mask and restricting social interactions are important right now. He recommends that, if you have symptoms, seek medical attention as soon as possible, especially since there are a limited number of at-home testing kits available.
It is unclear at this time whether any of the AU Center’s other colleges, including Morehouse College, Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, will reimpose masking mandates.