Some covid-19 mitigation strategies at the University of Pittsburgh will loosen Monday, as the Pittsburgh campus moves into a “guarded” risk posture.

Up to this point, Pitt has been in “elevated” risk posture, which calls for most classes to be held remotely, limits gatherings to 25 people and other restrictions.

Guarded risk, according to the university website, will bring most classes in-person, relaxes gathering restrictions and opens more shared spaces.

Many existing covid-19 guidelines will remain in place, including mask and social distancing requirements, and students may still attend class online if they prefer.

“The guarded risk posture allows us the opportunity to provide an in-class experience — at least once a week — for all students with classes that have been assigned a classroom,” Provost Ann E. Cudd wrote in a message to students. She noted that infection rates on campus have been stable for several weeks. “If a course has an assigned classroom, students can attend class in-person if they wish, and instructors can teach in person if they wish.”

Members of Pitt’s Covid-19 Medical Response Office said students’ compliance with guidance up to this point has helped the university successfully lower its case levels, prompting the change.

“So we can say, what was the compliance with mask, social distancing and hand hygiene? And it’s quite good on our campus,” said Dr. John Williams, who heads the office. “And that is the most valuable piece. And we’re fortunate that in the city around us, our community, people are also generally doing the right thing. So the county is remaining at a fairly steady level where they are. Those two features are what enabled us to move to guarded.”

Some don’t agree with the move

Some members of the campus community are skeptical about the move, based on an editorial piece in The Pitt News. The editorial argues that Pitt’s case numbers don’t reflect the rest of Oakland, and suggests some students get tested by sources outside the university, skewing the data. The piece also argues that more in-person instruction could lead to an increase in cases.

The move to Guarded Risk Posture also comes just after Pitt’s Johnstown campus moved backward, to elevated risk, on Wednesday. In a message sent to the campus community Wednesday, Pitt-Johnstown President Jem Spectar said an uptick in infections on the campus necessitated the change.

Pitt-Johnstown recorded 13 new covid-19 cases in the last week, according to the university data dashboard, bringing the cumulative total to 30 cases on the campus.

But the Pitt isn’t the only entity loosening restrictions. Professional sporting events are reopening for spectators, businesses have largely reopened and county gathering restrictions have been lifted, in favor of the state’s less stringent policy.

And though case numbers and the percentage of positive covid-19 tests in the region are on the rise, experts have said that is to be expected. Covid-19, like most viral infections will “ebb and flow,” and the number of critical care hospital stays has not reached the early-pandemic levels.

“There’s a lot of things we can do safely,” said Dr. Thomas Walsh, medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Allegheny Health Network. Walsh referenced the schools and colleges across the region, which have had relatively low infection transmission, despite holding in-person classes. “We have to review the risk benefit, and I think there’s a huge benefit to education and schooling.”

Pitt’s move to guarded risk posture will still be contingent upon local and state case numbers, Dean Kenyon Bonner said in a message to students last week. Bonner also emphasized that the lowest risk posture is not a return to the “pre-pandemic way of operating.”

“The guarded risk posture still requires our responsible behavior,” he said. “Each of us needs to continue to do our part to safeguard the health and well-being of our community.”

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