Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In alignment with recent changes in COVID-19 guidelines from both the Centers for Disease Control and the office of Gov. Roy Cooper, Beaufort County Community College will return to normal operations on June 14.

This means there will no longer be any temperature checks or mask requirements, and members of the public are invited to use the BCCC library once more. The changes come as a greater number of residents have received vaccinations and hospitalization numbers have dropped significantly. The college will hold an ice cream social on June 24 to welcome students back. While starting on June 14 BCCC will no longer require mask wearing or social distancing, anyone may choose to wear a mask at any time, if they feel safer doing so.

Unvaccinated individuals who are exposed to COVID-19 will still be asked to quarantine for 10 days, while there are no quarantine requirements for vaccinated individuals. Anyone who shows symptoms of COVID-19 should stay at home and get tested for the virus. In any case of exposure or a positive test for COVID-19, individuals will have to fill out BCCC’s COVID-19 Screening Form, available at https://www.beaufortccc.edu/covidscreening.

The reason for the return to normal operations is that the free vaccines available to the public work to prevent the further spread of the virus. The college has hosted mass vaccination clinics on its campus throughout the spring. Students as young as 12 years old can now receive the Pfizer vaccine, meaning that all students, staff and faculty are now eligible to receive a vaccine for free. While BCCC will not require or check employees’ status for vaccination, the college encourages all students and staff to get vaccinated to help ensure public health and safety. Individuals across North Carolina can go to https://myspot.nc.gov/ to find a vaccination site that caters to their needs.

To welcome students back onto campus, BCCC will hold an ice cream social on June 24 from 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. The first 100 students will get a free scoop of ice cream. Students are also invited to visit with admissions, financial aid and the advising center afterwards to get registered for fall classes.

BCCC is currently operating on summer hours: Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. – 5:45 p.m. The Advising Center is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. to help students register for classes. All offices are currently open.