Students and staff at Youngstown State University will no longer be required to wear masks while in the classroom beginning Wednesday.

According to an email sent to students and staff from YSU President Jim Tressel, the University decided to make the change based on the recent decline in community spread and the latest CDC guidance.

This comes almost a month after YSU updated their protocol to allow students to remove their masks while in indoor campus areas. However, students were still required to mask while in classrooms or laboratories.

As of the most recent update to YSU's COVID-19 dashboard on March 21st, there were just four reports of positive cases across staff, students who live on-campus, and students who live off-campus.

The University will continue to provide students with access to testing, masks, and COVID-19 vaccines and boosters. They will also continue to monitor and re-assess COVID-19 protocols as needed.