UCI Forward

UCI Forward is our commitment to the well-being of our community as we ramp up campus operations. Working together, each of us doing our part, we can move UCI Forward.

Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services

Section 1

What is contact tracing?

UCI's Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services reaches out to any Anteaters who have tested positive for COVID-19. Tracers give isolation instructions and let individuals know how to return to campus from isolation once recovered. Tracers also help identify where exposures may have occurred and close contacts.  This effort helps to track and contain the spread of COVID-19 and assure that the campus is compliant with COVID-19 regulations.

Visit the Isolation and Close Contact Instructions page for further guidance for cases and close contacts.

What is a close contact?

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) defines close contact as:

  1. In spaces of 400,000 or fewer cubic feet per floor — sharing the same indoor airspace for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during an infected person’s infectious period
  2. In spaces greater than 400,000 cubic feet per floor — within 6 feet of the infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period during the infected person’s infectious period.

Information shared is confidential

We recognize that you may have reasons for not wanting to share where you’ve been and who you have been with. However, it is imperative to control the spread that you do your best to answer all the questions asked by the contact tracer. All information that is shared is kept confidential and is not used for any other purpose than to control the spread of COVID-19.

TAKE THE CALL/Make a call

In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on campus, it is crucial for students, staff, and faculty to “take the call” from the contact tracing program and be honest and complete in responding to the interview questions.

The approximate time between somebody becoming infected and somebody showing symptoms is about three to five days, and the amount of time that one can be infectious before symptoms, is about two days.

If you are called by a contact tracer, the number that will appear on your phone is 949-824-2300. Please take the call.

If you test positive, please call 949-824-2300 to report your case. If you get voicemail, please leave a message and a tracer will call you back.

Vaccine Navigation Services

The team is available Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. helps individuals find COVID-19 vaccine and booster appointments and can be reached at 949-824-2300 or by emailing contacttracing@uci.edu.