Nova Scotia is famous for having a strong sense of community that leads us to care for and take care of each other. Yet the central administrations of many of Nova Scotia’s colleges and universities are risking not living up to this reputation. By not implementing a protection plan based on rigorous legal, ethical and clinical evidence and analysis, they are leaving their own students, staff and faculty, as well as the broader Nova Scotia community, vulnerable to further ravages of COVID.

What are they doing as the province’s population is about to be supplemented by thousands of incoming students from across the country and internationally, where vaccination rates are not as high as they are in Nova Scotia? Many are only “advising” vaccination, “asking” for masks, and “encouraging” regular testing. In so doing, they are risking transmission of COVID on their campuses and in the communities where their students, staff, and faculty live.