ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Editor's note: The above video aired on April 6, 2022.
With only days left in its spring 2022 semester, Augustana College in Rock Island reissued a face mask mandate inside campus buildings after an increase in COVID-19 cases among students and staff.
The masking requirement went into effect Monday, May 9 for all students, staff and guests inside campus buildings regardless of vaccination status, according to the college's website. The only exceptions to the rule are for roommates inside residence hall rooms, employees alone in their offices and people eating where food is served on campus.
As of Monday, Augustana reported 43 confirmed virus cases, with 35 of those being among students and eight among employees.
Augustana said it will continue to perform its own contact tracing and work with positive students to ensure they have the necessary housing to isolate or quarantine from others. When space is not available on campus to do so, students will be placed at the Holiday Inn in downtown Rock Island as part of a partnership between the hotel and college.
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Augustana's spring exam week begins Monday, May 16, and its commencement ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 22 at the TaxSlayer Center in Moline.
For those that can't attend in person, the ceremony will be streamed live on Augustana College's YouTube channel.