Maryland's university presidents say they know it is not a matter of if anyone will become infected with Covid-19 when on-campus activities resume, but when. And they are making major investments to try and limit infection spread as much as possible.
Most of the state's colleges, including the 12 institutions overseen by the University System of Maryland, have said they plan to reopen campuses for at least some in-person learning come fall. Institutions have laid out reopening action plans that include heightened safety protocols like requiring masks to be worn in all buildings and learning spaces, limiting non-academic campus events, obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) for all essential staff, increasing facilities cleaning schedules and reducing on-campus housing capacity by at least a third in most cases. Still, it will not be enough to guarantee every student and staff member will be safe from Covid-19.
