The University of Maine System is requiring all students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear wear face coverings inside its buildings.

The new policy applies to all, regardless of vaccination status, as the delta variant causes a surge of infections in Maine.

“With our classrooms and other indoor spaces no longer set up to impose social distancing, face coverings are an important strategy we can employ to effectively control the transmission of COVID, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status and testing participation,” Chancellor Dannel Malloy wrote.

The announcement on Wednesday came after Bates College adopted a similar requirement at its Lewiston campus.