WKU ended its COVID-19 response actions and protective measures today, as President Biden ended the nationwide public health emergency.

David Oliver, director of environmental health & safety, announced the removal of the measures in an email to staff on Wednesday evening. The removed measures include reporting positive cases to the WKU COVID-19 assistance line, social distancing, physical barriers and reduced operating capacities.

“In line with guidance from federal, state and local public health agencies, WKU will officially end response actions and protective measures specifically focused on the COVID-19 pandemic,” Oliver said via email. 

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 no longer a global health emergency on Friday, May 5. President Joe Biden set the U.S. COVID-19 public health emergency to end today.

During the week of May 3, Warren County recorded 37 COVID-19 cases, and like the rest of the U.S., has seen a steady downturn in case numbers since the start of 2023.

Oliver said people can still choose to wear face coverings, and WKU will continue to provide KN-95 masks to faculty, staff and students who want to wear them as long as it has them remaining in stock.

Although COVID-19 is no longer a public health emergency, Oliver said cases are still being reported on a “lesser scale” and that the campus community should still be aware of COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.

“There are still cases, but there’s not a large number of them anymore,” Oliver said.

Overall, he said he is proud of the response to COVID-19 the WKU community has had during the pandemic.

“I think most everybody is glad to be officially done with it […] I’m really proud of the faculty, staff, students [and] the community for coming together,” Oliver said. “[It] was the only way we could make this thing work in order to get through it.”

Editor-in-chief Alexandria Anderson can be reached at [email protected].