GW to Lift Mask Mandate on Feb. 27

To: GW Community Members

The university’s COVID-19 vaccine and booster requirement continues to provide strong protection for our community members from severe illness and hospitalization. Our community’s high vaccination rate, as well as the currently low local rates of illness and hospitalization due to COVID-19, has led us to revise GW’s mask mandate for most campus locations.

Beginning Monday, Feb. 27, wearing a mask will be optional in most university-owned or -operated facilities, with the following exceptions: masks will still be required for 10 days following a positive COVID-19 test and in university health care facilities, including the Student Health Center and the GW Medical Faculty Associates buildings.

Although masks will be optional on our campuses, their use is strongly encouraged. N95 masks continue to be available for free to community members at GW’s test sites and remain the most effective way to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. Individuals may choose whether to wear a mask based on a variety of reasons.  We ask that you respect the personal decisions of others.  

GW’s current COVID-19 vaccine and booster requirements remain in place, as we continually evaluate our public health protocols. Requests for exemptions from the university’s vaccine and booster requirements may continue to be requested through the Student Health Center (students) or Occupational Health (faculty and staff). Requests for accommodation due to a disability may also continue to be requested through Disability Support Services (students) or the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity & Access (faculty and staff).

Additional information on our public health protocols is available at coronavirus.gwu.edu. Thank you for your continued support to help keep one another healthy and safe, and we will continue to keep our community informed of public health updates.