One day after Durham County reinstated its indoor mask mandate, Duke released updated guidance on communal eating.
Community members are encouraged to eat outside whenever possible, and food will not be allowed at indoor meetings, events and other gatherings unless an outdoor eating option is made available. There will be additional tents on campus to accommodate outdoor dining.
Indoor seating should be limited to four people and times when multiple people are eating together should be minimized. People should remain masked indoors at all times unless actively eating or drinking.
The changes were announced in a Tuesday morning email from Vice President for Administration Kyle Cavanaugh and Matthew Stiegel, director of the Occupational and Environmental Safety Office. Communal dining has remained a “primary mode of transmission,” according to the email.
Durham County entered a state of emergency at 5 p.m. Monday due to a rise in COVID-19 cases. Masks are required in all public buildings regardless of vaccination status.
The University’s semester testing protocol resumed last week with entry testing for students who were on campus during summer session. There were 22 positive results out of 4,953 tests administered between Aug. 2 and 8.
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Nadia Bey, Trinity '23, was managing editor for The Chronicle's 117th volume and digital strategy director for Volume 118.