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College of Life Sciences

COVID-19 FAQ

University Coronavirus Information can be found here.

    • Masks are still required for in person teaching in an indoor classroom during Spring Term.

    • Classes held outside do not need to require masks.

    • Masks are not required for most research activities, however, use of masks for research activities can still be required at the discretion of the faculty supervisor.

    • Masks are required for students and faculty who are preparing food for serving.

    • Disposable masks will continue to be required in animal vivariums as a PPE requirement. Disposable face masks may be purchased at the Life Sciences Stockroom (1100 LSB).
  • Physical distancing should be followed whenever possible. Workspaces and lab areas should maintain the current physical distancing practices in place.

    Supervisors can require students to show a green indicator on the “Daily Checkup” passport screen of the Healthy Together app for teaching labs and research activities where physical distancing is hard to maintain.


  • Individuals who are able to provide documentation of vaccination to their supervisor can resume domestic travel under normal conditions following all travel approval processes. Individuals who are not vaccinated or who do not want to disclose their vaccination status may be required to participate in COVID-19 testing before a travel request can be granted. The cost of the testing is to be covered by the sponsoring department. International travel still requires special approval.

    COVID-19 testing (before and after travel) will be required for all individuals who are not vaccinated or choose not to disclose their vaccination status who are traveling outside of the State of Utah or traveling to a Utah county that is categorized as high transmission in the week prior to travel (https://coronavirus.utah.gov/case-counts/). An individual who has had positive COVID-19 result within 90 days of proposed travel will not need to have COVID-19 testing done prior to travel.


    • Same day travel: Vaccination status for each person should be documented by the supervisor on the travel roster or travel memo sent to the department for approval. Approval for individuals who are not vaccinated or who do not want to disclose their vaccination status will require additional approval from the Dean’s office. If COVID-19 testing is required then approval must also be given by the International Vice President’s Office (IVP). Masks are not required for same-day travel in a university vehicle for individuals who are fully vaccinated. Masks are required to be worn by approved individuals traveling in a university vehicle who are unvaccinated or have not disclosed their vaccination status.

    • Overnight travel: It is the responsibility of the individual who is submitting a trip authorization plan for domestic overnight travel to provide documentation of vaccination status to their supervisor. Individuals who are not fully vaccinated or individuals who choose not to disclose their vaccination status must get approval from BYU’s Domestic Travel Group (domestictravelgroup@byu.edu) before travel approval will be granted. Individuals may also be subject to the university COVID-19 testing protocol as outlined above. Supervisors should attach the vaccination disclosure documentation to the trip authorization in BYU’s Chromeriver.byu.edu travel system.

    Supervisors should not require vaccination or pressure faculty, staff or students to disclose vaccination status for domestic travel approval. Instead, they should inform faculty, staff or students of the option to follow the testing protocols or disclose that they are vaccinated.

    Vaccination documentation must be submitted with each travel request. Departments and supervisors cannot maintain a list of student or employee vaccination records.

    Employees and students will follow all state and local health guidelines imposed by the destination jurisdiction and/or airlines.
  • Campus events may be planned and scheduled according to pre-pandemic processes and current BYU policies.

    Visitors and volunteers are allowed on campus according to pre-pandemic BYU policies. Visitors and volunteers need to abide by current BYU COVID-19 policies.

  • Cleaning of desks, tables, work benches, lab equipment, vehicles, etc. should still take place before each use.
  • If face masks are still required by your supervisor, you should follow the same guidelines from Fall and Winter Semester for mask selection. Laboratory work that requires the use of disposable face masks includes, but is not limited to, lab work involving radioactive materials, biosafety level 2 microorganisms, chemical or biological toxins, or highly reactive materials.
  • Continue disinfecting non-disposable PPE after use. Students should be assigned their own lab coat and leather gloves. Lab coats should be laundered frequently. Teaching labs can require students to provide their own lab coat, research labs should provide lab coats for each student. Wear disposable gloves as a base layer under shared heat and cryogenic gloves.
  • Individuals who test positive but show no symptoms, and individuals with mild to moderate infections should follow CDC recommendations and usually can be around others in class or work after:

    - 10 days since symptoms first appeared AND

    - 24 hours with no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND

    - COVID-19 symptoms have improved

    Individuals with severe COVID-19 or with severely weakened immune systems should follow the guidance from the Utah Health Department on when to return to work or class. It may be up to 20 days or more.
  • Anyone who has had close contact with someone with COVID-19 should stay home for 14 days after their last exposure to that person. Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.). Get tested if you start to experience symptoms.
  • If you did not have close contact with the individual who tested positive you do not need to self-isolate. You should self-monitor for symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.) and self-isolate and get tested if you start to exhibit any symptoms.
  • BYU has no set procedure for faculty who test positive or need to self-quarantine and cannot continue in-person teaching. Faculty can either find another faculty member to cover their class or move instruction to online for the quarantine period.  Talk with your department chair about individual concerns as this will be handled on a case by case basis.  
  • Do not bring in extra chairs to a conference or classroom if not enough seating is available. Chairs have been spaced to allow for physical distancing of 6 feet in the room.

  • For immediate help with classroom technology, call the AV Support Help Line 2-7671 (2-SOS1). See the IT TEC Room Support page for more information.