Wearing face coverings, maintaining physical distance, and washing hands frequently are effective tools in minimizing the spread of this virus. Face coverings limit the spread of airborne particles that may carry virus. Since many individuals who are infected do not experience symptoms, wearing a face covering can help protect you and the people around you, including those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
ON CAMPUS
Well-fitted face coverings, such as cloth coverings or masks, must be worn at all times indoors on campus, regardless of vaccination status. The same requirements apply to visitors on campus. Face coverings are not required outdoors on campus for vaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a face covering outdoors when they can’t maintain 3 feet of distance with others.
- You must wear a face covering in:
- Campus buildings, including shared offices, classrooms, and restrooms
- Lobbies and hallways
- Stairwells and elevators
- Garages
- The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to require that face coverings be worn in specific spaces on our campus, including at MIT Health and on MIT shuttle buses.
- Face coverings and face masks are available from MIT for free as needed; it is acceptable to provide your own. Use proper technique for putting on and taking off a face covering or mask.
- Contact your DLCI’s administrative officer for information on supplies of face coverings and face masks.
- Cloth face coverings should be washed and kept for reuse.
- Face coverings do not provide the same level of filtration as an N95 respirator; however, when worn properly, they can be effective in reducing the transmission of larger droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. Wearing a face covering will help protect you and the people around you, including those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Exceptions include:
- Anyone with a disability, medical condition, or trouble breathing who has explicit approval from the MIT Disabilities Services and Medical Leaves Office (DSMLO) (more information available here).
- If an employee is in need of medical services that require the temporary removal of the face mask or covering.
- Eating and drinking indoors is permitted in all campus buildings. When dining with others at MIT, limit group size to four people; maintain 6 feet of distance between individuals and 8 feet of distance between groups of people dining together. MIT continues to encourage those on campus to dine outdoors whenever possible.
- If an employee is communicating with a hearing-impaired person, and the employee’s mouth needs to be visible.
- If wearing a mask may introduce a safety hazard into the workplace; check with your DLCI for area-specific exceptions.
- If you are alone in a private office or personal space with a closed door.
- If instructors or speakers are presenting to a fully-masked class or audience (e.g., a faculty or instructional staff member or TA giving a lecture, a guest speaker at an event). Multiple speakers or panelists sharing a stage who cannot maintain 6 feet of distance must be masked.
- For residential-specific exceptions, check with Housing and Residential Services.
IN LABORATORIES
- Cloth face coverings or face masks must be worn at all times by anyone in a lab.
- It is acceptable to continue using surgical masks or N95 respirators if they are used under normal conditions for protection during the normal course of research activities, such as when a surgical mask is intended to protect the wearer from splashes of potentially contaminated biological fluids. Surgical masks should be used in lieu of cloth face coverings during work in BL2+ containment.
- If an experiment previously posed no risk of exposure to hazardous materials when performed without any face covering, there is no additional risk of contaminating the cloth face covering from the same experiment now.
- The highest risk of contamination comes from touching the face covering with contaminated gloves. In the event your mask becomes contaminated, please replace your mask. In some cases, a face shield could be used to protect the mask.
- The use of engineering controls (such as a fume hood or biosafety cabinet) would also protect the user and face covering from possible contamination.
- Use of cloth face coverings and face masks should be carefully reviewed by lab managers and EHS in cases where flames or heat sources are used or when straps could get caught in equipment. Some experiments involving flammable and pyrophoric chemicals may require a flame-resistant face covering as determined through a risk assessment with the PI or DLCI. Please contact EHS (environment@mit.edu) for assistance making this determination.
- Gloves and gowns:
- There is no change in guidance on wearing gloves. Gloves should continue to be worn to protect oneself from hazardous materials. Gloves should not be worn outside the lab.
- There is no change in guidance for gowns or lab coats.
- Sharing of PPE (including lab coats, safety glasses, face shields, and cryogenic gloves) should be avoided, and PPE items should be dedicated to one user only. If sharing PPE cannot be avoided, decontaminate the PPE before and after each use. Please contact EHS (environment@mit.edu) if you have questions about PPE decontamination.
Exceptions include:
- Anyone with a disability, medical condition, or trouble breathing who has explicit approval from the MIT Disabilities Services and Medical Leaves Office (DSMLO) (more information available here).
- If an employee is in need of medical services that require the temporary removal of the face mask or covering.
- If an employee is communicating with a hearing-impaired person, and the employee’s mouth needs to be visible.
- If wearing a mask may introduce a safety hazard into the workplace; check with your DLCI for area-specific exceptions.
- It is acceptable to wear the same face covering that you arrived with into the lab and acceptable to leave the lab with the same face covering, provided it is not contaminated with hazardous materials and has not become damaged.
- Experiments that did not require a surgical mask or N95 respirator prior to the COVID-19 pandemic do not require these protective devices now; a cloth face covering is sufficient.
Wearing face coverings, maintaining physical distance, and washing hands frequently are effective tools in minimizing the spread of this virus. Face coverings limit the spread of airborne particles that may carry virus. Since many individuals who are infected do not experience symptoms, wearing a face covering can help protect you and the people around you, including those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
ON CAMPUS
Well-fitted face coverings, such as cloth coverings or masks, must be worn at all times indoors on campus, regardless of vaccination status. The same requirements apply to visitors on campus. Face coverings are not required outdoors on campus for vaccinated individuals. Unvaccinated individuals are required to wear a face covering outdoors when they can’t maintain 3 feet of distance with others.
- You must wear a face covering in:
- Campus buildings, including shared offices, classrooms, and restrooms
- Lobbies and hallways
- Stairwells and elevators
- Garages
- The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to require that face coverings be worn in specific spaces on our campus, including at MIT Health and on MIT shuttle buses.
- Face coverings and face masks are available from MIT for free as needed; it is acceptable to provide your own. Use proper technique for putting on and taking off a face covering or mask.
- Contact your DLCI’s administrative officer for information on supplies of face coverings and face masks.
- Cloth face coverings should be washed and kept for reuse.
- Face coverings do not provide the same level of filtration as an N95 respirator; however, when worn properly, they can be effective in reducing the transmission of larger droplets expelled when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or raises their voice. Wearing a face covering will help protect you and the people around you, including those at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Exceptions include:
- Anyone with a disability, medical condition, or trouble breathing who has explicit approval from the MIT Disabilities Services and Medical Leaves Office (DSMLO) (more information available here).
- If an employee is in need of medical services that require the temporary removal of the face mask or covering.
- Eating and drinking indoors is permitted in all campus buildings. When dining with others at MIT, limit group size to four people; maintain 6 feet of distance between individuals and 8 feet of distance between groups of people dining together. MIT continues to encourage those on campus to dine outdoors whenever possible.
- If an employee is communicating with a hearing-impaired person, and the employee’s mouth needs to be visible.
- If wearing a mask may introduce a safety hazard into the workplace; check with your DLCI for area-specific exceptions.
- If you are alone in a private office or personal space with a closed door.
- If instructors or speakers are presenting to a fully-masked class or audience (e.g., a faculty or instructional staff member or TA giving a lecture, a guest speaker at an event). Multiple speakers or panelists sharing a stage who cannot maintain 6 feet of distance must be masked.
- For residential-specific exceptions, check with Housing and Residential Services.
IN LABORATORIES
- Cloth face coverings or face masks must be worn at all times by anyone in a lab.
- It is acceptable to continue using surgical masks or N95 respirators if they are used under normal conditions for protection during the normal course of research activities, such as when a surgical mask is intended to protect the wearer from splashes of potentially contaminated biological fluids. Surgical masks should be used in lieu of cloth face coverings during work in BL2+ containment.
- If an experiment previously posed no risk of exposure to hazardous materials when performed without any face covering, there is no additional risk of contaminating the cloth face covering from the same experiment now.
- The highest risk of contamination comes from touching the face covering with contaminated gloves. In the event your mask becomes contaminated, please replace your mask. In some cases, a face shield could be used to protect the mask.
- The use of engineering controls (such as a fume hood or biosafety cabinet) would also protect the user and face covering from possible contamination.
- Use of cloth face coverings and face masks should be carefully reviewed by lab managers and EHS in cases where flames or heat sources are used or when straps could get caught in equipment. Some experiments involving flammable and pyrophoric chemicals may require a flame-resistant face covering as determined through a risk assessment with the PI or DLCI. Please contact EHS (environment@mit.edu) for assistance making this determination.
- Gloves and gowns:
- There is no change in guidance on wearing gloves. Gloves should continue to be worn to protect oneself from hazardous materials. Gloves should not be worn outside the lab.
- There is no change in guidance for gowns or lab coats.
- Sharing of PPE (including lab coats, safety glasses, face shields, and cryogenic gloves) should be avoided, and PPE items should be dedicated to one user only. If sharing PPE cannot be avoided, decontaminate the PPE before and after each use. Please contact EHS (environment@mit.edu) if you have questions about PPE decontamination.
Exceptions include:
- Anyone with a disability, medical condition, or trouble breathing who has explicit approval from the MIT Disabilities Services and Medical Leaves Office (DSMLO) (more information available here).
- If an employee is in need of medical services that require the temporary removal of the face mask or covering.
- If an employee is communicating with a hearing-impaired person, and the employee’s mouth needs to be visible.
- If wearing a mask may introduce a safety hazard into the workplace; check with your DLCI for area-specific exceptions.
- It is acceptable to wear the same face covering that you arrived with into the lab and acceptable to leave the lab with the same face covering, provided it is not contaminated with hazardous materials and has not become damaged.
- Experiments that did not require a surgical mask or N95 respirator prior to the COVID-19 pandemic do not require these protective devices now; a cloth face covering is sufficient.