The University of Guelph announced on Monday they will be implementing a required proof of vaccination registration for anyone who intends to access U of G buildings at both the Guelph and Ridgetown campuses and all university-managed facilities.
The enforcement will come into effect Sept. 7.
In a statement on its web site, the university said: “As we develop our responses, we have consulted with public health experts, discussed best practices for the sector with other universities, and listened to feedback from our community. After announcing a vaccination mandate last week, we continued to monitor the situation. With emerging information about the Delta variant and modelling showing that we have entered a fourth wave of COVID-19, we are refining our vaccination requirements.”
The announcement comes nearly two weeks after the university first unveiled its mandatory vaccination policy, which was to be run using “voluntary compliance."
The initial vaccine mandate drew criticism from faculty members who said the announcement was little more than a public relations opportunity and did not adequately address the risk to public health as the fourth wave of COVID sweeps across the province.
U of G president Charlotte Yates, president and vice-chancellor at the University of Guelph, said during the university's town hall Aug. 12 she would not be looking at faculty to enforce the mandate.
Monday’s announcement also addresses visitors to the university, whereas the previous announcement did not include any details on visitors coming to campus or testing for COVID-19.
Now, all visitors to the university's facilities will be required to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 and those over the age of 12 who are not vaccinated must receive a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 72 hours before accessing our indoor spaces.
The university did not say how the required vaccination proof would be enforced, nor did the university give a date for when those on campus are required to be fully vaccinated.
Those with a protected exemption based on medical grounds or other grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code will be exempt from the vaccination proof requirements.
This story will be updated.
