Protection Levels Increasing on Embry-Riddle’s Campuses

At Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations continues to accelerate, bringing us closer to our goal of resuming nearly pre-pandemic operations. 

Embry-Riddle continues to strongly encourage – but not require – Covid-19 vaccinations, in accordance with U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Documenting your vaccination through our All Clear system is also voluntary at Embry-Riddle, but it is very helpful so that we can keep an accurate count.  

For those who have been fully vaccinated and display their All Clear designation, face masks and physical distancing are now optional at Embry-Riddle, both outdoors and inside buildings. Those who do not have the All Clear designation must continue to wear masks and practice physical distancing at Embry-Riddle. (Read on for further details about our current safety protocols.) 

President Butler has called on us to be kind and respectful to each other during this somewhat awkward transitional phase, as our community is bouncing back from the pandemic. Be mindful that vaccinations are encouraged but not required, and some individuals may choose to forego this protection because of certain serious medical conditions or sincerely held religious beliefs. 

For May 6-13, 2021, the situation at Embry-Riddle’s three campuses was as follows: 

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA 

• New Covid-19 cases confirmed May 6-13: 2
• Fully vaccinated Embry-Riddle constituents: 1,151 

31% of the Daytona Beach Campus summer population, including currently enrolled students, staff and teaching faculty had received the All Clear designation as of May 20, 2021. 

PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

• New Covid-19 cases confirmed May 6-13: 0
• Fully vaccinated Embry-Riddle constituents: 507 

37% of the Prescott Campus summer population, including currently enrolled students, staff and teaching faculty had received the All Clear designation as of May 20, 2021. 

WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS & BEVILLE ROAD LOCATION 

• New Covid-19 cases confirmed May 6-13: 0
• Fully vaccinated Embry-Riddle constituents: 143 

41% of the summer staff population working at Worldwide Headquarters and Embry-Riddle’s Beville Road facility in Daytona Beach had received the All Clear designation as of May 20, 2021. 

OUR CURRENT SAFETY PROTOCOLS

With U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention guidelines evolving rapidly in response to increased Covid-19 vaccinations, Embry-Riddle has been moving quickly to ease safety restrictions. Please check our Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions page regularly.

Our protocols as of May 20, 2021 are as follows:

• Those who have been fully vaccinated – 14 days after receiving both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) vaccine – and display their All Clear designation can go mask-free while on campus or in university buildings, without physical distancing.
• As a reminder, Embry-Riddle strongly encourages but does not require Covid-19 vaccinations, in keeping with U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) guidance. We also appreciate voluntary reporting of vaccinations through our All Clear system, so that we can keep an accurate count.
• Although wearing a mask is now optional for anyone who has been fully vaccinated, those Embry-Riddle faculty, students and staff should feel comfortable continuing to wear a mask if they so choose.  
• Unvaccinated individuals who do not have the All Clear designation must continue to wear their masks and remain six feet apart, consistent with CDC guidance. Unvaccinated individuals must undergo regular testing at Embry-Riddle. Faculty and staff members who have not been vaccinated will be unable to participate in university-sponsored travel.
• Those who display the All Clear designation may remove their masks for in-person office hours, training inside aircraft, and meetings of no more than six people with vaccinated people (who display their All Clear designation) as well as unvaccinated people (who must wear masks). Those with an All Clear designation can also host guests in residence hall rooms. 
• Faculty who have been fully vaccinated and who display the All Clear designation should hold in-person office hours. Additional virtual office hours can be added when needed. Faculty as well as students who have the All Clear designation may offer classroom lectures and presentations without masks or face shields.
• If a member of your group has not been vaccinated, or does not yet have the All Clear designation, they must continue to wear a mask and remain six feet apart.
• Embry-Riddle President P. Barry Butler has emphasized that “no one should ever be excluded or called out because of vaccination status.” While Embry-Riddle encourages everyone to be vaccinated, Covid-19 vaccinations, and the reporting of them, are voluntary.
• If you are sick, or if you have been in close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, do not come onto campus. Faculty should be prepared to help students continue in their face-to-face courses remotely during the time students may need to self-quarantine or when they are unable to attend class due to illness.
• Everyone is asked to practice rigorous hand hygiene and assist in regularly disinfecting high-touch surfaces.