
UB has put the following protocols in place to protect your safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For specific concerns please call (24 hours a day):
UB University Facilities Customer Services
716-645-2025
Updated 9/29/22
The use of face coverings is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Masks are optional on UB’s campuses in most settings:
Remember: There are many reasons that individuals may continue to wear a mask, including those who are:
Please be kind and respectful toward others in our UB community.
Faculty and academic support staff, see Guidance for faculty and academic support staff.
Please note that universal masking is dependent on CDC-reported community transmission rates, and may be reinstated if Erie County experiences a sustained increase in the number of new cases and/or if masking is otherwise recommended by public health authorities. Masks have been a highly effective strategy at reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.
There are many types of masks you can use to protect yourself and others from getting and spreading COVID-19. The best, most readily available face mask is made of multiple-layers of cloth with a nose wire, that fits snugly.
Face masks are dangerous because they restrict oxygen and expose me to dangerous levels of carbon dioxide from my exhalations.
Masks are not air tight. Oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules are small enough to easily pass through a face covering. If masks made it impossible to breathe, then any surgeon, any nurse, any lab technician, any person who works in a job that requires them to wear a mask would be passing out.
Wearing a face mask impinges on my individual freedom.
Striking a balance between individual liberty and collective safety is a challenge. Your individual concerns should be weighed against the need of the UB community to mitigate spread of the virus. Wearing a mask is a minimal sacrifice to protect us all. Further, many members of our community view it as a violation of their human rights to be exposed to potential infection from those who will not wear face masks. Like face masks, seat belts don’t guarantee your safety, but give you much better odds of surviving an accident or avoiding more serious injury. One big difference: Masks also help protect other people.
If you wear a cultural or religious head covering, such as a hijab, niqab, or turban, you are required to wear a cloth face mask, too.
In general, most cultural or religious head coverings either do not cover the face or do not fit snugly enough around the face to provide sufficient protection against COVID-19. Additionally, most head coverings that extend over the face are made of fabric too light and porous to offer protection.
Wearers of hijabs, turbans, tichels and head coverings like them that do not cover the face, must also wear a cloth face mask.
A standard cloth face mask can be tucked inside your veil or turban, behind your ears.
If you prefer to wear your face mask outside your head covering, consider attaching face mask extensions or buttons so you can attach ear loops.
Niqabs (niqaabs) and headcoverings like it do not provide sufficient protection against COVID-19 because they are not worn snugly against the face, are not air tight and are usually made of chiffon or other lightweight fabrics. For these reasons they do not effectively block your own respiratory emissions.
The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings that are at least 2 plies thick.
For these reasons, wearers of niqabs and coverings like it are required to wear a face mask.
Source: University Facilities
In addition to wearing a mask, physical distancing (also known as social distancing) is highly recommended by the CDC. To promote physical distancing, when necessary the university will modify or restrict use of spaces (including classrooms) where people tend to congregate, so people can stay at least 6 feet apart in all directions.
Updated 6/23/21
Campus health science and clinical teaching laboratories may continue to operate without the 6-foot distancing normally required in a classroom. Masks, however, must be worn, regardless of whether individuals have been vaccinated or not.
Here are some tips for maintaining safe physical distance on buses and shuttles:
Updated 3/30/2022
Meetings
Updated 3/2/22
Updated 3/2/22
Enabling safe physical distancing in high-traffic service areas will necessitate some longer wait times. When physical distancing protocols are active, please allow extra time to travel around campus.