*Students and employees at Morris Brown College in Atlanta are required to wear face masks on campus a week after classes began.
According to a letter sent to faculty, staff, and students, the college will enforce the mask requirement and other COVID-19 safety protocols for two weeks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The letter cited “reports of positive cases among students at the Atlanta University Center” as the reason for the decision.
Morris Brown President Kevin James told AJC that no COVID cases have been reported on campus but the school is taking “precautionary measures” as the new classes get underway.
As part of the instructions, students are advised to maintain physical distance, and parties or large gatherings on campus are prohibited for the next few weeks.
College students are returning to Atlanta’s campuses at a time when COVID cases are allegedly on the rise. Statewide, infection rates are increasing, but hospitalizations and infections remain low, the AJC reports.
Meanwhile, a newly identified COVID-19 variant with 30 mutations has allegedly been identified in the United States.
As Daily Voice reports, the World Health Organization (WHO) upgraded BA.2.86 to a “variant under monitoring,” citing the “large number of mutations it carries.”
Cases of BA.2.86 (nicknamed “Pirola”) have also been detected in Israel, the United Kingdom, and Denmark. Michigan is the first state to detect the virus in the US.
In related news, following a spike in U.S. COVID-19 cases, movie studio Lionsgate has reinstated mask mandates for nearly half its employees.
Deadline obtained an internal memo from Lionsgate/Starz response manager Sommer McElroy announcing the new policy after several employees tested positive.
“Employees must wear a medical grade face covering (surgical mask, KN95 or N95) when indoors except when alone in an office with the door closed, actively eating, actively drinking at their desk or workstation, or if they are the only individual present in a large open workspace,” he wrote, according to the outlet.
READ MORE: Jamie Foxx’s Rep Denies Actor Suffered Stroke, Blindness from COVID Vaccine
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
