Town Hall Q&A 11/16/2021

Question:

How does the updated Kansas City mask mandate reflect at UMKC SOM and at TMC/UH?

Answer:

The short answer is that masks continue to be strongly encouraged but are not required at the medical school.  The hospital setting is completely different – TMC/UH has a mask requirement due to the clinical environment, so you must continue to wear a mask while in the hospital/clinic setting.  The same is true for all of our clinical affiliate sites.

On November 5, Chancellor Agrawal and Provost Lundgren sent the following message which pertains to the School of Medicine building and all buildings on the UMKC campus:

To Our Campus Community:

We are updating our UMKC masking policy effective today. The Kansas City mask mandate will continue but will only apply to K-12 students, ages 18 and younger. That means masks are recommended but no longer required on the UMKC campus, as outlined by the University of Missouri System Board of Curators.

In keeping with CDC recommendations, UMKC officials request that all individuals wear masks in indoor spaces – especially when social distancing is not possible. Protecting the health and safety of our campus community continues to be a top priority as we continue to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks will still be required in certain clinical spaces, including the School of Dentistry building, Student Health and Wellness and Community Counseling and Assessment Services.

We appreciate the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect in regards to COVID safety that have kept our campus Coronavirus case counts very low.

Although this changes previous guidance on masking, all other COVID-related protocols remain in place, such as notifying the university about an exposure, symptoms or positive results and following isolation/quarantine procedures.

We continue to urge vaccination for all members of our community as our single best defense against COVID-19. To get vaccinated, we offer:

• An ongoing series of on-campus free vaccination clinics for students, faculty and staff. Clinics will be offered at the Student Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Nov. 9, Nov. 23 and Dec. 7. As an incentive, we are offering a $25 gift card to every student, faculty or staff member who receives a vaccine at these clinics. Each person vaccinated at one of the upcoming clinics also will be automatically entered in a drawing to win one of several $200 and $500 gift cards.

• Free vaccinations by appointment through our partners at University Health/Truman Medical Centers. Register online or call (816) 404-CARE (2273) and press option 1.

We must each do our part to ensure that we can continue to offer in-person teaching, learning and community service. Please remember to stay home when you are sick, get tested if you have COVID symptoms, follow quarantine guidance and report positive cases to the university.

In this together,

C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
Chancellor

Jenny Lundgren, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor