Mercer University’s Macon campus received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Monday night email from the Provost’s office. 

Mercer University began surveillance testing on the Macon campus for undergraduate students on Sept. 1. The university previously began this testing procedure in graduate and professional programs in Macon and Atlanta on Aug. 25. 

Mercer University updated their COVID-19 policies surrounding face masks Aug. 24. While Mercer first put into place a mask requirement during its second summer session, the policy was expanded in mid-August after fall classes began. The original policy, sent out in July, did not specify what kind of masks were acceptable or how users would be required to wear them. The updated policy now specifies that all individuals on-campus are required to wear masks that cover their nose, mouth and chin. 

Mercer University quietly changed its COVID-19 protocols in a document posted to its coronavirus page Tuesday. The document is an updated version of one that was released in June. The updates reduce the amount of time a student who tests positive for COVID-19 must be fever-free before ending their self-isolation and removes a previous suggestion that a student test negative twice before ending self-isolation. 

The Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill Feb. 22 to legalize the carry of concealed weapons on public college campuses. Bill 859, otherwise known as “Campus Carry,” allows any student...