COVID-19 Prevention: Campus Facilities

University officials continue to urge students, faculty and staff to get vaccinated because it is the most effective way to protect one’s health and end the pandemic. According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. 

For fall 2021, all students will be required to be vaccinated in order to attend classes in person.

Fully vaccinated students and employees may choose to wear a mask in all settings for their own comfort or personal medical reasons.

• Fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks or remain physically distanced on campus, except on UB buses and shuttles or in healthcare or clinical settings.
• Everyone (regardless of vaccination status) must continue to wear masks on UB buses and shuttles, and within certain campus health care settings (e.g. Student Health Services, the UB Dental Clinic).
• Unvaccinated individuals should continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing except:
  • indoors while physically distanced, seated at their workstations or seated while eating and drinking. 
  • outdoors on campus unless they are in a gathering or crowded event where they are unable to maintain six feet of distance.
  • physical distancing will not be required in classroom settings, but unvaccinated individuals must wear masks in classrooms.
• 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.
• Visitors: Fully vaccinated visitors on UB campuses are no longer required to wear face masks indoors or outdoors, except while riding on UB buses and shuttles or in healthcare settings. Unvaccinated visitors to UB are required to abide by UB health guidelines, which include indoor masking and physical distancing requirements, and submitting the Daily Health Check each day they are on campus.

• Fully vaccinated employees who are regularly on campus are exempt from mandatory weekly testing upon verifying that they have been fully vaccinated. Employees can provide proof of vaccination on the HR website.
• Weekly testing remains mandatory for those who are on campus and have not been fully vaccinated or fail to upload their vaccination documentation.
  • Before going to the test site, you must preregister with SUNY. Detailed instructions are available here. Testing site times and locations can be found here.
• All students and employees who are coming to campus are asked to continue to submit their Daily Health Check regardless of their vaccination status.
• Fully vaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 do not have to quarantine unless they are symptomatic.

• COVID-19 restrictions remain in effect only for large indoor events with more than 5,000 people in attendance. At UB, this means that most activities and events on campus will resume in person, without masking or physical distancing for fully vaccinated individuals..
• UB football games and other fall sports competitions will be held at full capacity in front of fans, in accordance with New York State guidelines. Masks will be required for unvaccinated individuals. The university will provide guidance about men’s and women’s basketball games at a later date.

• Ventilation and air filtration: UB’s facilities staff and environment, health and safety experts will continuously assess the operating conditions of campus ventilation and air conditioning equipment, as they have done throughout the pandemic. In accordance with CDC recommendations, UB has upgraded HVAC filters where feasible, increased the amount of supplied outside air, extended the HVAC run times of occupied building settings, and balanced temperature, static air pressure and humidity conditions to provide the optimal indoor air quality balance.

• Cleaning protocols: The state’s mandatory cleaning and disinfecting protocols are no longer in effect, but UB will continue to clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in common areas around campus at least once a day. Other surfaces will continue to be cleaned and disinfected regularly based on the amount of foot traffic.

• Wastewater testing: Building on a pilot project the university launched last spring, UB will continue surveillance testing of campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Wastewater testing is an early  warning system for the detection of positive COVID-19 cases on campus.

• Employee Guide (Human Resources) 
• Business Guidance Related to COVID-19 (including Purchasing PPE) 
• Other Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): In general, the use and ordering of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has returned to normal operations. UB units should work with Purchasing and Contract Services to procure equipment and supplies.
  • Gloves: According to the CDC, gloves are not necessary for general use and do not replace good hand hygiene. Wearing gloves can provide a false sense of protection. By touching multiple surfaces without changing or cleaning gloves, you may unwittingly contaminate surfaces or yourself. Unless you are directed to by your supervisor or faculty member, or you work in an area that requires it (e.g., health care), please do NOT wear gloves.
  • Use of PPE in Labs 
  • Request PPE and Safety Equipment 
  • Lab Occupancy Under COVID-19 Conditions