According to a newsletter sent out by university president Eli Capilouto on March 4, the University of Kentucky may be going maskless as early as this week. UK’s START team, which consists of health professionals and scientists, elected faculty, staff and student leaders, senior administration and deans will meet next week to outline steps for masking guidelines.

On March 1, 2022, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky state employees will no longer be required to wear masks at work. Afterward, Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton announced the lifting of mask mandate in city buildings beginning on March 1. The Fayette County Board of Education met on the evening of March 2 to discuss the current mask mandate. For now, masks will still be required in Fayette County schools until cases drop to a medium or low level.

Other colleges in the state, such as Western Kentucky University and Murray State University, have lifted their face masks requirements this month. Eastern Kentucky University and Morehead State University are both mask optional in non-instructional areas on campus.

“Given those factors, Fayette County and much of the state remains in a zone in which masks are highly recommended,” Capilouto wrote. “However, the trends are moving in the right direction here and throughout the Commonwealth as well.”