Effective March 2, Utica University will no longer require masks on campus, according to an email from President Laura Casamento.

This news comes after New York State Governor Kathy Hochul announced that New York will lift the statewide requirement on mask wearing in K-12 settings, effective tomorrow.

“Beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, March 2, masks will not be required on campus,” Casamento said. “KN95 masks will be available upon request for students, faculty, or staff through the end of this semester.”

This will mark the first time since the Spring 2020 semester where masks will not be required on campus. In addition to no longer being required to wear a mask, visitors and guests will be allowed on campus, including in the residence halls, subject to the Utica University’s normal visitation policies, according to Casamento.

Many of the rules implemented for the Fall 2020 semester at Utica University will no longer be in effect. Testing requirements will only be applied to students who display symptoms related to COVID-19.

The University is also deciding to move forward without the daily health screening, a questionnaire that needed to be filled out everyday someone wanted to be on campus. The health screening was directly linked to the functions of the campus community’s ID cards.

Members of the campus community will no longer be required to complete a daily health screening,” Casamento said. “Instead, all individuals will receive a daily text and email reminder instructing you of what to do in the event that you begin to experience cold, flu, or COVID-related symptoms.”

Although these various requirements have been lifted at Utica University, students, faculty and staff are still encouraged to wear masks if they feel better while wearing one.

“While we will no longer expect or require members of our campus community to wear masks, we encourage everyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask to continue to do so,” Casamento said. “To that end, I ask that everyone respect the individual choices of our classmates, colleagues, and friends – whether they choose to wear a mask or choose not to.”

This story is breaking and will be updated as more news is still to come.