The University announced all individuals entering indoor public spaces at Queen’s are required to wear a face covering starting July 24.
The new policy was created to help reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 in the Queen’s and Kingston communities. Kingston, Frontenac, and Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) Public Health mandated masks must be worn in all indoor public spaces in the region on June 29.
The areas affected by this policy include lobbies, hallways, stairwells, restrooms, elevators, and other common spaces on campus. Individuals are permitted to remove their mask while working alone in a private work area, working behind a Plexiglass barrier where two-metre physical distancing can be maintained, or while eating or drinking.
Other exemptions will be provided for those with underlying medical conditions that inhibit their ability to wear masks, as defined by KFL&A Public Health. A medical note is not required for these exemptions.
To assist those who need to visit campus in complying with the new regulation, Queen’s has purchased two cloth face masks for each employee.
Employees can pick up these masks at the Queen’s Postal & Print Services (QPPS) office in Room 001 of the Jemmett Wing in Fleming Hall.
As this wing of the building is not considered accessible, curbside delivery can be arranged by ing QPPS at (613) 533-6305.
The University is asking only employees who have been authorized to be on campus pick up their cloth masks. It intends to develop a broader distribution plan through individual faculties and departments as more campus operations are approved to resume.
Cloth masks will also be made available to students who are required to be on campus. The University hasn’t yet released information regarding how students can access these masks.
Queen’s follows a number of other universities in the province, including the University of Toronto, York University, McMaster University, Western University, Ontario Tech University, Carleton University, and Brock University.
Brock University was the first university in Canada to mandate the wearing of face coverings in all indoor campus spaces, as of July 1.
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