Ohio Northern University students will be starting the spring semester with some new COVID protocols because of the rise of the omicron variant.
The university will be changing their definition of "Fully Vaccinated" to "Up to Date Vaccination" to take into account of students getting their booster shots. At the end of the fall semester, 82% of the students were fully vaccinated. Those students who are not vaccinated will have to be tested before they can return to school and will be tested regularly during the semester. The omicron variant has caused ONU concern. They have been fully in-person learning since August 2020 and university officials want to see that trend continue.
“One of the benefits that we have is certainly very good expertise on our campus,” says ONU Pres. Dan Dibiasio. “The College of Pharmacy and our other health science areas and to be able to rely on their knowledge and they’re being up to date has been a tremendous benefit to us. So, we keep abreast of what’s happening and what changes we need to make and our mitigation strategies to try and be as healthy and safe on this campus.”
The university will also be eliminating concessions for the indoor athletic events for the immediate future and enforcing the masking policy for spectators in the stands. They will also be taking out some seating in the cafeteria to promote social distancing.
