Harvard College Well being Companies Director Giang T. Nguyen mentioned in a Friday interview that college officers are discussing newly-relaxed state masks pointers, however didn’t specify when — or if — the College will roll again its on-campus public well being laws.

An advisory launched by the Massachusetts Division of Public Well being final week now not recommends indoor masking in most places for wholesome, fully-vaccinated residents. Masks are nonetheless required in sure settings, together with transportation and well being care services.

Cambridge and Harvard nonetheless require masks to be worn indoors.

“We’ve been discussing this and can proceed to very significantly think about the trajectory for the masks pointers on campus,” Nguyen mentioned of the brand new state suggestions.

Nguyen’s feedback come as Covid-19 circumstances within the better Boston space proceed to say no quickly.

There have been 151 constructive circumstances on Harvard’s campus within the final seven days, amounting to a positivity charge of 0.48 p.c, based on the College’s Covid-19 dashboard. In early January, the College recorded 976 constructive circumstances throughout the peak of the Omicron variant on campus.

“The Omicron surge has receded tremendously during the last a number of weeks,” Nguyen mentioned Friday. “We actually hit the height firstly of January and subsequently we’ve been dropping down fairly steeply, which has been nice to see.”

Nguyen mentioned it’ll take time for the surge to drop “all the way in which” because of the excessive variety of circumstances recorded throughout the nation in January.

“I don’t know precisely the place we’ll land when it comes to a gradual state,” he mentioned. “It might not be the place we have been as a gradual state again in early fall of final 12 months.”

HUHS will proceed to adapt its insurance policies because the science adjustments, Nguyen mentioned.

“We’ve to needless to say the campus setting does convey extra danger due to the focus of individuals inside school rooms, inside residential housing, and so forth,” he mentioned.

Harvard has already rolled again some on-campus laws, together with a ban on in-person eating that took impact at first of the semester. The Faculty reopened its residential eating halls on Feb. 5.

“It’s actually necessary to do not forget that well-being is a lot greater than the absence of COVID,” Nguyen mentioned. “A number of the biggest dangers for youthful adults are the influence of social isolation, and people psychological well being penalties are actual.”

He mentioned the transfer to return to in-person eating was additionally pushed by the excessive vaccination charge at Harvard, the place 98 p.c of scholars are vaccinated.

“After we made these selections, we knew that these are selections that have an effect on a highly-vaccinated group of youthful individuals who at baseline are usually not going to be in danger on the identical diploma as somebody who’s aged and who has a number of continual medical situations,” Nguyen mentioned.

“We weren’t seeing tremendously sick folks, by and huge,” he added.

Requested concerning the dangers of the varsity’s return to in-person eating, Nguyen mentioned unvaccinated people and individuals who have underlying medical situations may sit farther aside from others.

“We’re actually getting to some extent inside this pandemic expertise the place we have now much more company on the particular person stage,” he mentioned. “And that is actually the place I feel most of society is heading.”

—Workers author Lucas J. Walsh could be reached at lucas.walsh@thecrimson.com.

—Workers author Vivian Zhao could be reached at vivian.zhao@thecrimson.com