University of Guelph to require proof of COVID-19 vaccination this fall

Beginning Sept. 7, faculty, staff and students who intend to access University of Guelph buildings at both the Guelph and Ridgetown campuses and all university-managed facilities must register their proof of vaccination, the university announced Monday.

A notice on the university's website said details on how to provide proof of vaccination will be available soon.

"After announcing a vaccination mandate last week, we continued to monitor the situation," the university said.

"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 university said it will also require all visitors to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 to access buildings and managed facilities.

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, it said.

The university said exemptions for staff, students and faculty will be granted based on medical and other grounds protected under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Students who want to request an exemption can fill out a form online.

In recent weeks several universities have announced a similar requirement for individuals who wish to enter the various campuses.

The move comes after the university previously announced vaccines would be necessary, but president and vice-chancellor Charlotte Yates also said the school would not be a "carding campus." Some staff, faculty and students spoke out on campus saying the school needed to do more to ensure people were vaccinated before going to campus.

The university had previously said anyone living on campus starting this fall would need to be fully vaccinated.