The University of Maine System will drop its mask mandate for most campus spaces starting on March 26.
However, the mask requirement will stay in place for classrooms, unless a faculty member requests that the requirement be waived for the space they work in, according to Marcus Wolf, a spokesperson for the university system.
The masking requirement will also remain in place for the public events that host more than 75 people at UMS facilities, unless proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result is required on an individual event basis. Event organizers will be allowed to require masking at UMS events, Wolf said.
Anyone can continue to wear a mask on campus spaces if they wish.
More than 96 percent of students across the university system have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the entire system reported a positivity rate of less than 1 percent, based on testing conducted as students returned from spring break on March 20, according to Wolf.
In early March, the Maine Community College System allowed individual campuses to set their own masking policies, and as of mid-March, all seven of the college campuses in the system had set optional masking policies.