Sussex University announces face coverings must be worn in all seminars

Earlier today Pro Vice-Chancellor Kelly Coate emailed students to inform them that face coverings on campus must now be worn.

Following government guidelines and legal requirements, Kelly Coates’ email states that it’s now mandatory that staff, students and visitors wear face coverings unless exempt for medical or other reasons.

In the email sent to students, Kelly states that face coverings on campus must be worn in the following situations:

The email suggested that coverings must be worn in ‘teaching’ areas, it was not specified whether this counts for seminar rooms and lecture halls. A spokesperson for The University of Sussex exclusively told The Sussex Tab that face coverings must be worn in seminars and lecture halls.

The spokesperson said: “People in the UK and all around the world have adapted so quickly to wearing face coverings and we know our students really care about keeping each other safe, so we don’t envisage there will be the need for penalties.  There will be lots of reminders for people all around campus too.”

The email also provided links to the government website which states who is exempt from wearing face coverings. As well as this, the email also provided information on how to make your own mask.

At the end of the email, Kelly Coate explains a new food service that has been developed by University caterers and will begin starting September. She states: “The new food service will make it really easy to get the food you want in all sorts of ways- in person, via an app, click and collect, on-campus deliveries and street food vans.”