Clark University recently announced that on March 21st, indoor mask-wearing and COVID testing will be optional at Clark. This decision was justified citing that Clark, and Massachusetts overall, have had very low positive case rates. Yet this decisions is timed with students returning from Spring break, many of whom have been traveling both nationally and internationally. 

We are also learning more about a new strain of the Omicron variant, BA.2, which accounts for an estimated 3.9% of all new infections nationally, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It appears to be doubling fast, and is 30% more infectious than the original omicron strain. With only about 3 months until the end of the spring semester, the risk of lifting testing and mask mandates is not worth another spike in COVID cases or the detrimental impact this would have on the safety and wellbeing of disabled students at Clark. 

Additionally, Omicron is still infecting more than 100,000 people and killing about 2,000 people every day in the U.S, and these numbers are certainly on the lower side considering the underreporting of cases and deaths in the U.S. (to read more about this, we have linked articles in our bio.) 

Please take a minute to sign this petition to communicate that the convenience of non-disabled people will not override the safety of disabled students at Clark.