Peralta Community College District (PCCD) announced on Monday Oct. 24, 2022 that they have updated their mask policies to adhere to the Alameda County Public Health Department guidelines. Masks are now optional on PCCD property in alignment with CDC, CDPH, and ACPHD recommendations.

The district informed the Peralta community of these changes in an email that was sent out early Monday morning by the PCCD announcement email on behalf of Ronald McKinley, Interim Vice Chancellor of Human Resources and Employee Relations and Mark Johnson, Executive Director of Marketing, Communication and Public Relations.

The requirement of wearing face masks on campus was part of the district’s vaccination policy announced for the Fall 2021 semester. The policy also stated that PCCD employees, contractors, and students were required to have proof of vaccination.

In the announcement, McKinley and Johnson provided reasons for PCCD’s decision to change the policy.

“PCCD has invested greatly in the update of our HVAC and air filtering systems. Additionally, the federal, state, and local policy on masking has evolved.”

Alameda County does not require masks in academic settings unless the COVID-19 Community Level is medium or high. Currently the Alameda County Community Level is low.

“Per CDC and ACPHD guidelines, when the community level is low, people may choose to mask at any time. People with symptoms, a positive test, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should wear a mask,” the announcement said.

Anyone interested in additional information and the latest updates on COVID-19 at PCCD can visit the Safe Peralta website.