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OFFICE OF THE CHANCELLOR
January 27, 2021
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ALL STUDENTS, ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO
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On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom lifted regional stay-at-home orders across California in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to the system of county-by-county restrictions. Due to the continuing effort to rebound from the latest surge of viral infection in the region, San Diego County announced it is now in the most restrictive Tier 1, or Purple Tier, of the state's Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The virus is still considered to have a widespread presence within the county, therefore many non-essential indoor business operations will remain closed.
UC San Diego will continue its most restrictive mode of operations. This decision allows time to collect and review scientific data on the evolving state of the pandemic, including the impact of the relaxation of the State’s stay-at-home order and the prevalence of the more transmissible variants of the virus that are present within the greater region.
It has been nearly a year since the pandemic forced us to find innovative new ways to deliver instruction remotely, build community online, and help keep our Triton community safe. Our Return to Learn plan continues to evolve in response to public health conditions, what we learn through practice, and what our predictive models tell us.
For example, based on modeling, we anticipated a spike in cases when students returned to campus from Winter Break. Our predictions were correct; students did return to campus with more positive cases than we experienced in the fall quarter. To meet the challenge, we increased testing frequency to weekly and installed vending machines to dispense self-administered COVID-test kits. Along with the use of isolation housing for positive cases and continued wastewater monitoring, the greater access to test kits and increased testing have greatly reduced the risk of spread on campus. Three weeks into the quarter, and we are seeing the same low levels of cases on campus that we saw throughout the fall quarter.
Return to Learn is working. This is why we are currently staying the course on our more restrictive campus operations.
Expanded Availability of Outdoor Classrooms
Current public health orders restrict teaching to outdoor in-person or remote modalities. The county might not authorize indoor in-person teaching to resume before the end of the quarter. To accommodate additional outdoor teaching, we have built additional outdoor teaching spaces for those wishing to teach in-person. As usual, each instructor may choose the teaching modality that is best for their class.
In-Person Events
To reduce opportunities for the spread of COVID-19, all in-person events taking place on campus through May 31, 2021, must be presented in virtual formats, rescheduled for a future date or cancelled. This encompasses any planned in-person gathering including but not limited to celebrations, dances, lectures, forums, performances, meetings, rallies, social gatherings, concerts, speaker presentations, conferences, contests, competitions or tournaments. In-person events do not include classes and curricular activities.
It is highly recommended that event organizers consider converting in-person events to virtual delivery wherever feasible to ensure that UC San Diego community members continue to have opportunities for healthy and meaningful engagement and connection. Please direct any questions regarding this temporary policy to VCSA@ucsd.edu.
Student Testing and Protocols
Weekly testing requirement. Students living on campus or coming to campus for in-person outdoor instruction, research, or any other activity are required to test weekly.
Sequestration following unmasked off-campus activity. Any student who resides in campus-operated housing and who engages in any off-campus unmasked activity (sharing a meal, recreational activities, gatherings, etc.) is required to be masked and distanced within their residential unit (with the exception of their personal bedroom and the shower), complete the daily screener, and undergo additional COVID-19 testing on days 1, 5 and 10 after returning to campus, resuming weekly testing after the day 10 test.
Students can use the online self-scheduler to select a convenient testing time for a provider-administered test or they may pick up a self-administered test at any COVID-test-kit-vending machine on campus. Students may continue to attend in-person outdoor classes and are encouraged to visit the Virtual Student Union for daily offerings of remote and virtual engagement opportunities to stay connected. Outside of the residential unit, students are required to mask at all times, with the exception of eating and exercising, and must maintain physical distance at all times. Sequestration ends when a day-10 COVID-19 test returns as negative.
Research
On-site research that has already been approved via the Research Ramp Up process will continue at current personnel levels. Students who wish to continue approved on-site activity advancing their education (e.g., thesis or dissertation research, 199, training rotations) may do so, but no student should be pressured. Researchers are reminded to follow all safety requirements, including completing their daily symptom/exposure screening and weekly COVID-19 testing.
Employees
Campus staff who are successfully working remotely should continue to do so at least through May 31, 2021, unless otherwise notified by your supervisor or vice chancellor.
Academic appointees should likewise continue working remotely except while teaching in-person in an assigned classroom or outdoor teaching space, undertaking scholarship as part of an ORA-approved Return-to-Research plan, or working under a Return-to-Campus work plan approved by their vice chancellor.
Thank You
I am very proud of our entire Triton community. Thank you for actively adhering to and participating in our detailed protocols. Because of you, UC San Diego is a model for repopulating university campuses and school systems.
Let’s keep up the good work. Keep your distance, wear your mask, clean work surfaces frequently, complete your daily screening, test every week, and activate CA Notify on your mobile phone.
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Pradeep K. Khosla
Chancellor
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