St. Thomas University to keep COVID-19 restrictions until end of semester

St. Thomas University will keep its COVID-19 restrictions in place for the rest of the semester, including its masking and physical distancing requirements.

Dawn Russell, the university's president and vice-chancellor, wrote in a message to the student community that it "remains sensible" to keep its protection measures in place.

"From March 14 until the end of the semester and exams is six weeks, which is a relatively short period of time, so at this late stage of the academic year, it is important to focus on continuity and stability rather than launch a series of changes," she wrote.

New Brunswick's requirement that certain businesses require proof of vaccination ended on Monday on the advice of Public Health, and the mandatory addressing other restrictions ends March 14.

St. Thomas has vaccine requirements for campus learning, and 99 per cent of faculty, students and staff have the required two shots. 

Students at the Fredericton university have been conscientious about following COVID restrictions, said student union president Tyler Magee.

"With how frequent the changes to COVID-19 restrictions [are] and the different levels and bubbles and all of the other descriptors that have been used as a way of trying to limit the spread of COVID-19, and the amount of fluctuation that we've seen, I think it's very smart, actually, to go about it this way," they said of STU's decision to keep restrictions. 

Magee, a fourth-year student in sociology and women and gender studies, said that at the beginning of the pandemic, students and faculty had a lot of concerns about how it would affect campus life. 

One of the ways the school mitigated those concerns was through the reassurance that restrictions would remain in place and be effective, Magee said.

So far, any cases that have happened on campus have been "very well-contained," they said.

"Because of that, we're very confident in our restrictions, and students are quite used to them now."

UNB consulting Public Health

The University of New Brunswick dropped its proof of vaccine requirements on Monday for most campus spaces and events, but hasn't decided yet whether it will still require masking and physical distancing after March 14. 

"We are consulting with Public Health on how best to proceed when the mandatory order is lifted and all provincial restrictions are removed on March 14," a spokesperson wrote in an email to CBC.

If members of the university aren't fully vaccinated, they must submit to regular rapid testing. That policy remains at this time, the school confirmed.

A Mount Allison University spokesperson said it will have updated information about its COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday.