The University will allow essential visitors on campus and enable students to register “social pods” for students, according to a Wednesday email.

Students living in on-campus housing are now able to register for households consisting of no more than eight students who reside in the same residential facility or area.

Households may interact with one another without face coverings in each other’s living spaces and outdoors, according to the email, which was signed by Senior Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Students Mona Hicks, Assistant Vice Provost for Residential Education Cheryl Brown and Assistant Vice Provost and Director of the Graduate Life Office Ken Hsu.

Apartment-mates, spouses, significant others and children who live with students are automatically counted toward the eight-person limit, according to the email.

The University initially announced the creation of pods on Sept. 22 in an email to students by Associate Vice Provost for Environmental Health & Safety Russell Furr, who wrote that more information on pods would be announced last week. 

In addition, essential visitors will now be allowed on campus. The email defined essential visitors as care workers who provide essential services to Stanford students, spouses, significant others and dependent children. Students must register their essential visitors with the University. 

All essential visitors and members of households must comply with University and state COVID-19 regulations. 

The University also announced that it is now providing flu immunizations for all students who paid the campus health service fee. 

Contact Ari Gabriel at arijgab ‘at’ stanford.edu.