UNK to require masks for the next 3 weeks

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) - Students, faculty, staff, and visitors at the University of Nebraska-Kearney will have to wear masks indoors for the next three weeks.

In a statement posted on its website, the school said the requirement starts this coming Saturday, Jan. 15, and continues through Saturday, Feb. 5. In the announcement, the school wrote that the policy was meant “to protect the operations of the university during the present wave of infection. This decision is based on the continued increase in COVID-19 transmission in the state and county.”

The policy does not apply to on-campus residents when in their own rooms, people eating while seated at their tables, and athletes during official practices and competitions. But it does apply to fans at indoor sporting events.

UNK adopted a similar policy at the beginning of the school year but suspended it in October when campus case rates went down and campus vaccinations had reached 69%.

The risk dial from the Two Rivers Health Department, which includes Kearney and the UNK campus, rated the risk of contracting COVID-19 as extreme.