MIT Now Adapting to Covid, Coming Together

Face coverings

Last updated: September 8, 2021

Regardless of vaccination status, well-fitted face coverings remain required in all MIT buildings except:

  • When alone in a fully enclosed space.
  • When actively eating or drinking indoors.
  • Residents of MIT Housing or FSILGs when they are alone (or with their roommates, suitemates, spouses, partners, children, or families) in their private rooms or suite common rooms with the door closed. For more information, see the Covid-19 policies for graduate and undergraduate students.
  • When speaking in a group setting where all others present are masked (e.g., a faculty member, instructor, or TA giving a lecture; a guest speaker at an event; a student asking a question in class; a staff member making a comment in a meeting); a fully vaccinated speaker may lower or remove their mask while speaking and then raise or replace their mask to allow others to speak. In a given space, only one mask should be down or off at a time. Unvaccinated speakers and instructors should not remove their masks when speaking or presenting.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts continues to require that face coverings be worn in specific spaces on our campus, including at MIT Medical (including testing facilities) and on MIT shuttle buses.

For unvaccinated individuals, wearing a face covering outdoors is required when unable to maintain 3 feet of physical distance. Face coverings are not required outdoors for vaccinated individuals.

Note that MIT’s face covering policy and other Covid policies are subject to change if public health conditions change on campus or in surrounding communities, or if local, state, or federal guidance changes.

Additional resources and information