Dear KGI Community,

Many of you have likely seen the revised LA County Health Officer Order (HOO) released yesterday, which goes into effect after midnight tonight regarding indoor masking. The order says that establishments, businesses, and vendors can allow fully vaccinated persons to remain unmasked indoors. The interim steps indicated in the order were established until the county can reach a previously set goal of “moderate rate of community transmission,” as defined by the CDC.

There is not enough clarity in the recent order on whether Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) can operate within the parameters of the revised HOO from yesterday or whether we are subject to the “Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education Requirements Best Practices,” dated 1/7/22. This guidance states that “all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, are required to wear an appropriate face mask over the nose and mouth while indoors,” and “all faculty and staff are required to wear masks of upgraded quality for enhanced protection.”

We will revisit our mask policy for vaccinated individuals on KGI’s campus to follow LACDPH guidance if we clarify that there are no additional HEI updates. We have reached out to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to try and seek clarification, but as you can imagine, they are backlogged with questions from this unplanned change in masking policy. We hope to hear from them within the next few days.

Please continue to wear masks throughout KGI until you hear from us.

Masks are available for pickup by students in the Student Affairs suite. Employees can find KN95 masks outside the 535 conference room.

Thank you in advance for your flexibility and understanding.

Be well,

KGI COVID-19 Task Force

Back to kgi.edu/coronavirus page