LA GRANDE — In the midst of consistently low cases on campus and across Oregon, Eastern Oregon University is set to drop its mandatory indoor mask mandate on March 12.

According to a statement from the university, masks will be welcomed but not required.

“As with anything, we’re utilizing OHA’s guidelines and our local health authority in making our decisions,” said Lacy Karpilo, the university’s vice president of student affairs. “We’ve stayed true to the science and our local health authorities.”

The university has taken a number of steps in loosening mitigation efforts, including allowing travel for field trips and limiting testing for vaccinated individuals. Eastern stopped its large-scale testing clinics, moving COVID-19 testing to the university’s health center.

Eastern is continuing to host vaccine clinics, offering initial doses and primarily booster shots — the university most recently hosted a vaccination clinic on March 2. Across in-person students, 75.7% are vaccinated and 24.2% received an exemption. The university’s employee vaccination numbers stand at 80.1% vaccinated and 17.7% exempt.

According to Karpilo, Eastern has tried to stay extra cautious with federal and state mandates that have fluctuated over the course of the pandemic. A close connection with the Oregon Health Authority and the Center for Human Development has allowed the university to make timely, fact-based decisions.

“We’ve been able to pivot very quickly on things when we’ve needed to,” Karpilo said. “We make sure that we’re taking the time to connect with all of our resources. With every decision, there’s an impact. I think that’s what has made COVID such a difficult thing to manage.”

The university tallied just one case among students and faculty in the two-week period from Saturday, Feb. 18, through March 5.

Eastern has tallied 295 total COVID-19 cases since the start of the academic calendar in July, with 157 coming from off-campus students. There have been 56 cases among employees and 42 cases in on-campus students.

The university had one reported off-campus isolation/quarantine over the last two-week period, a number that has stayed steady since late January.

In the past several months, students at the university have reported non-COVID illnesses. The typical increase in winter illnesses such as the flu without traces of COVID-19 is a promising sign for university officials.

“Right now what we’re seeing is that students are getting other things,” Karpilo said. “There’s still illness going around, but it’s not COVID. It’s great because it signifies that our students are still being responsible. Our students are doing really good work on that front.”

According to Karpilo, Eastern will continue making its decisions based on COVID-19 trends and consultations with health authorities. While the steady low numbers are a promising sign, the university is continuing to monitor cases and trends.

“We really look at what’s best for our community, both the EOU community and the local community,” Karpilo said. “We don’t view ourselves as just a silo, we see ourselves as part of the bigger community.”