New COVID variants are fueling hospitalizations and prompting some schools and hospitals to reinstate mask mandates. Others are considering or ruling out the possibility, leaving it up to individuals.

The changes to the COVID-19 protocols on public transportation come after a federal judge ruled Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had exceeded its authority and failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is adding Indiana to a multi-state lawsuit targeting one of the few remaining federal COVID-19 mask mandates.

The University of Notre Dame is easing its mask mandate starting Monday, leaving them optional indoors for staff, students and visitors who are fully vaccinated.

Indiana surpasses 22,000 dead, as the rate of new deaths slows. Gov. Eric Holcomb signs the General Assembly’s less restrictive COVID-19 vaccine mandate bill. And he ended the state’s public health emergency, which had been in place since March 2020.

A Senate committee dramatically scales back the House’s vaccine mandate bill. The Indiana Department of Health releases new school COVID-19 guidance. And COVID-19 data continues to improve.

A university spokesperson says student health and learning remain the primary focus, while pointing to declining case counts and the campus’s high rate of vaccination.

Some Indiana school districts no longer need to do contact tracing. The state’s COVID-19 cases have continued to slow as it reaches 1.6 million confirmed cases. And the state surpassed 20,000 dead, reporting its most recent 1,000 in just two weeks.

The University of Notre Dame has reinstated a mask requirement for all students, staff and campus visitors as the omicron variant fuels a surge in COVID-19 cases across the country.

The requirement applies to all students, faculty, staff and visitors inside campus buildings and structures, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, the campus said in a statement.