UNLV COVID-19 Update (7/28/2021)
Dear UNLV Community,
Recent news of increased COVID-19 cases in our community has led to changes in public health guidance and mandates from state and local government agencies. State officials on Tuesday, July 27 announced an emergency directive for Nevada, mandating that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission, effective Friday, July 30.
The state mandate is based on updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for mask requirements. The latest numbers from the CDC show COVID-19 community transmission in Clark County is currently among the highest in the nation.
NSHE Chancellor Melody Rose late Tuesday issued new COVID-19 requirements in line with the state’s emergency directive that all NSHE students, employees, and members of the public are required to wear a face covering while inside any building or structure on any NSHE campus or property, beginning Friday, July 30.
This means everyone on UNLV campuses is required to wear a face covering while within public indoor spaces. This includes wearing a face covering while in hallways, elevators, meeting rooms, office cubicles, restrooms, classrooms, labs, building lobbies, advising offices, libraries, the Student Union, the Student Recreation & Wellness Center, athletic facilities, and any other indoor public place where people may gather. The face coverings must cover both the mouth and nose.
Students and employees while alone in non-public locations, such as dorm rooms or private offices, are not required to wear a face covering under this new mandate. Student athletes, performers and musicians who are vaccinated are exempt when competing or training.
The new mandate may remain in effect until the vaccination rate increases and the level of COVID-19 transmissions decreases in Nevada’s high-risk counties. We will post updated campus signs with the new state mandate in the next few days.
We are grateful for your diligence in following public health mandates to reduce COVID-19 infections. We are in ongoing conversations with NSHE as well as local and state authorities, and will provide updates when we receive further direction and as public health conditions evolve.
Meanwhile, if you want to know how our UNLV community is doing relative to COVID-19 cases, see our dashboard that monitors cases on our campuses.
Please keep in mind, the most effective protection against COVID-19 is vaccination. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Southern Nevada’s vaccination rate continues to lag behind the national average and puts everyone at risk.
If you want to reduce everyone’s risk, please get vaccinated.
UNLV faculty and staff and their dependents who are 18 and older can make appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Faculty and Staff Treatment (FAST) Center. The telephone number for the FAST Center is (702) 895-0630. Students can call 702-895-3370 to make an appointment at the Student Health Center. UNLV will hold walk-in vaccine clinics at the Student Health Center from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the following Saturdays: July 31, Aug. 7 and Aug. 14. People may opt to get a COVID-19 vaccine at another convenient location.
We are sure that many of you are feeling the fatigue of fighting the pandemic for so long but we have to stay committed to keeping ourselves and each other healthy and safe. We are a community that makes a difference in so many ways. Let’s stay vigilant, flexible, and persistent in protecting against COVID-19 to achieve our educational mission and preserve in-person learning.
Warm Regards,
Keith E. Whitfield, Ph.D.
President
Chris Heavey, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President and Provost