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Current policies and status
Below is an overview of current policies and protocols at Stanford related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These will continue to be adjusted as the public health situation changes.

Stanford strongly recommends masking indoors and in crowded outdoor settings. Masking is required in classrooms, except while speaking; in healthcare facilities, including Vaden Health Center and Stanford hospitals and clinics; indoors at SLAC; and on Marguerite buses.

In compliance with a federal order, all Stanford faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars, including those working remotely in the United States, and applicable subcontractors were required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and upload documentation on Health Check by Jan. 4, 2022, unless they have a medical or religious accommodation.
Students were required to be vaccinated and to provide documentation of a booster, unless they have a medical or religious accommodation, by Jan. 31, 2022. Read more here.
COVID-19 vaccines are being administered by health care providers to eligible individuals based on criteria set by public health authorities. For the most current information, visit the Vaccinations page.

Face coverings are required in classrooms pending further assessment; however, individuals may remove face coverings while speaking. Color and rapid testing remain available to all students at these locations.

Dining halls offer indoor dining at full capacity, with Clean Dining protocols.

Research activities continue at Stanford. Guidance for researchers is available here. Additional guidance is available on COVID policies, flexible work resources and requirements for returning to work on-site at Stanford.

Weekly asymptomatic surveillance testing for vaccinated faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars and for fully vaccinated and boosted students (undergraduates, graduate students and students enrolled in professional degree programs) has been suspended.
Twice-weekly testing continues to be required for faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars who are not fully vaccinated, and for students who are not fully vaccinated and boosted.
Color testing continues to be available, up to two tests per week, for anyone who wishes to continue to use Color for regular asymptomatic testing.
Testing is strongly recommended whenever you are experiencing symptoms, concerned about possible exposure or returning to campus from travel.
Dashboards provide aggregated results for the Stanford community. See the Testing page for more information.

Health Check to self-report health status is required for employees and postdocs working in-person at a Stanford facility. Daily Health Check submissions are not required for faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars coming to campus who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 (documentation uploaded on Health Check) or fully vaccinated students on campus (documentation on the Vaden Health Portal) unless they become symptomatic, have a positive COVID test or are exposed to household members who have tested positive. Training on COVID hygiene is required before returning to work at a campus location for the first time.

Gatherings are required to comply with current COVID-19 event modifications, detailed here. Please email eventsafetyteam@stanford.edu for more information, and visit Health Alerts and student gatherings for the latest guidance.

Guests from outside the Stanford community are permitted to visit student residences effective Oct. 8, 2021. Guests must comply with the Residence Agreement and follow the university’s COVID-19 visitor policy. Additional information on visiting scholars, researchers, nonmatriculated students and other visitors is available here and here.

The university made important updates to its domestic and international travel policy effective March 28, 2022. While these changes are intended to help campus units plan for future activities, Stanford recommends that unvaccinated non-U.S. citizens do not travel outside of the United States given the uncertainty around entry requirements. Current requirements and updates effective March 28 are available here.

COVID Dashboards
Stanford’s COVID dashboards provide daily and weekly updates about COVID surveillance testing, isolation, and prevalence in the Stanford community.
Latest Updates
Update on COVID status and masking
The CDC’s COVID community level for San Mateo County is now high/red, a designation with recommended actions that encourage face coverings indoors and on public transportation.
Read more about Update on COVID status and maskingReminder of COVID presence and value of masking
As fluctuating case numbers and circulating variants remind us, COVID has not gone away. As campus activities increase, masking, testing and other health protocols are crucial to our efforts to minimize COVID spread.
Read more about Reminder of COVID presence and value of maskingTesting, Prevention & Care
Frequently Asked Questions

For COVID-19 related information for the Stanford community from prevention strategies to university operations to finding help:
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