Masking on the Central Connecticut State University campus has decreased, as some students say they are less worried about COVID-19 now.

With the onset of cold and flu season, threats of an increase in COVID infections can be expected. Around the campus, most students can be seen without masks as they go to class. There has been a steady decline in the number of people wearing masks as CCSU’s COVID-19 policy has changed over the years in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control’s guidelines.

According to CCSU’s Division of Student Affairs, the current COVID policy follows the CDC’s updated recommendations. Students testing positive for COVID are no longer placed in isolation but are recommended to stay home until fever-free for 24 hours without medication or showing improvement in their symptoms for 24 hours.

CCSU Director of Health Services Dr. Amber Cheema said that CCSU is treating COVID like an upper respiratory illness similar to the flu and is not enforcing isolation. Cheema said that currently, students can choose whether or not to mask.

“If a person has Covid, the recommendation is to mask to help prevent your friends and close contacts from getting the spread of the virus but there’s no one policing that policy,” Cheema said. “It is a decision that is left for every individual to make on their own.”

Julianna Matos, a freshman majoring in biology, said she no longer masks because she thinks people know how to take precautions and distance themselves to avoid getting sick.
“Now I’m in a more open environment too, so there’s like more space to move around,” Matos said.

Christopher Gabianelli, a senior majoring in history, said he is still worried about how COVID can affect immunocompromised people, like the elderly, but thinks that healthy people will be fine for the most part. He said he doesn’t need to mask except in certain circumstances.

“I think I can handle getting infected, and if I go near anyone that I think can’t, then I will mask up,” Gabianelli said. “I mask up when I go see my grandmother.”

Paula Shameti, a junior majoring in finance, said she does not see COVID as a threat to her, but it is still something that people can catch. She said she does not mask regularly unless she is sick because vaccines have built immunity, but she thinks it is good to respect other people’s spaces if others are sick.

“If people are sick, I’ve seen people wear it,” Shameti said. “I think that’s really important.”

Cheema said that she recommends that students still take precautions in high-contact areas by washing their hands and using alcohol-based sanitizer. She said that if students feel they get sick easily, she recommends they use medical-grade masks to protect against respiratory illnesses like COVID.

“Mask wearing is still on the list of preventative measures or reducing your risk of getting COVID,” Cheema said.