May 7 - Updates on COVID-19
Section 1
UCI UPDATES
Positive COVID-19 case
An essential campus employee has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual is in self-quarantine recovering at home. Individuals who may have come in contact with this employee are being notified, and are to self-monitor for symptoms for the next 14 days.
UCI Health moves from response to recovery
As the number of COVID-19 positive patients has plateaued, UCI Health will now shift its efforts to focus on the safe ramp-up of other patient care initiatives. As we move from “response” to “recovery,” we will continue to provide care for patients with the COVID-19 virus, and we have created a Business Continuity Committee that is committed to resuming care for our patients in a manner that ensures safety for our patients, providers and staff.
Blood donations needed at UCI Health - donors receive a gift card
As the hospital begins to ramp up surgeries, there will be an even greater need for blood and platelet donations. We are calling on all employees, their friends and families, who are well and healthy and meet the donation criteria to donate blood or platelets. All blood types are needed. The donor center is open Monday - Friday from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. for blood and platelets and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for platelets. In order to maintain social distancing, we are unable to take walk-in donors. Please make an appointment.
Beginning May 7 and running through May 16, everyone who donates blood or platelets at the UCI Health Blood Donor Center in Orange will draw for a $5-$10 gift card from a variety of restaurants. Blood donors will also receive their choice of a t-shirt or certificate for a pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream and platelet donors will also receive their 2 movie tickets.
Intimacy During Lockdown - call to writers for submissions
As a way to support literacy and cultural exchange, the UCI International Center for Writing and Translation is soliciting writers from all over the world to participate in a project titled “Intimacy During Lockdown.” We are interested in how you are experiencing intimate relationships with someone you are living with, dating or corresponding with – a lover, partner, child, parent, friend, colleague or animal. What is it like to be in a relationship while sheltering-in-place or otherwise limiting social/physical contact during the COVID-19 pandemic? Please send all submissions to icwt@uci.edu. Submissions can be anywhere from 1 to 10 pages and limited to one submission per person. The due date is July 15, 2020.
UCI Counseling Center
The UCI Counseling Center is providing students with virtual services, including individual therapy, case management, psychiatry, and drop-in groups and workshops. Visit the website or call 949-824-6457 for up-to-date information.
UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND STORIES
Irvine Chamber Honors Dean Boden-Albala
The Greater Irvine Chamber is featuring individuals and teams that are stepping up in innovative ways to help the community as we face and emerge from the coronavirus crisis. Dean of UCI’s Program in Public Health, Bernadette Boden-Albala Provides Expert Council on COVID-19. See the Community Hero feature on Dean Boden-Albala on the Greater Irvine Chamber’s website.
UCI Illuminations offers “Cooking with the Professor at the time of Coronavirus”
UCI Illuminations created a new show “Cooking with the Professor at the time of Coronavirus,” hosted by Philosophy Professor and Chair Annalisa Coliva. This show is brought to you by the Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion, Illuminations and the Humanities Center. With a variety of dishes from different cultural traditions, the show aims to stay connected and bring you some relief during these unprecedented times.
UCI COVID-19 VIRTUAL EVENTS
Mindful living: a prescription for the whole family while staying at home
The Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute is offering a wellness seminar Friday, May 8, called Mindful living: a prescription for the whole family while staying at home. Join us as we explore the power of the present moment, even in the midst of a pandemic. We’ll connect over experiences during this extraordinarily unordinary time. Review research based benefits associated with mindfulness, and engage in some mindful living practices that can be implemented by people of all ages. The session starts at 2 p.m. and registration is required.
UCI Illuminations offers “From a Bordercrosser to Another”: Guillermo Gómez-Peña
The pandemic suddenly forced a global lockdown upon us. What kind of effect do social distancing and isolation have on artists, activists, educators, and students? How does one continue to cross the ideological and artistic boundaries and challenge the status quo? We can learn from one of the most original and influential artist-activists Guillermo Gómez-Peña during the time of crisis. Guillermo Gómez-Peña is a performance artist, writer, activist, radical pedagogue, and artistic director of the performance troupe La Pocha Nostra. The zoom event is hosted by UCI Illuminations and takes place Wednesday, May 13, 5 - 6:30 p.m.
UC UPDATES
UC responds to new federal sexual harassment rules
University of California President Janet Napolitano issued a statement regarding the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement of final Title IX rules, which will impact the handling of cases of sexual harassment, including sexual violence, by universities and colleges across the country.
COMMUNITY UPDATES & NEWS
Additional 3.2 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week
With an additional 3.2 million Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week, the total is now at 33.5 million unemployed people since mid-March.
White House task force to continue ‘indefinitely’
A day after Vice President Mike Pence said the coronavirus task force would be phased out, President Trump declared it would continue “indefinitely.” The focus of the task force will now be on a vaccine.
White House will not implement the CDC’s reopening plan
The White House has decided against issuing the drafted reopening guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Instead they say it is “on the states to make case-by-case decisions they see best for their community.”
Moderna’s vaccine moves to second phase of trial
Moderna announced that the FDA cleared its vaccine for a second trial phase. The second phase of the trial includes people over 55.
National Institutes of Health wants to make millions of easy-to-use tests
An ambitious goal set by the National Institutes of Health calls for millions of “accurate and easy-to-use” coronavirus tests for Americans by the end of summer.
JetBlue to honor 100,000 healthcare workers with pairs of roundtrip flights
Jet Blue announced it will donate flights to 100,000 medical professionals.
Find a testing site website created for Californians
Governor Newsom has announced the creation of a new website that maps state and community COVID-19 testing sites.
Workers’ compensation benefits for those who contract COVID-19 on the job
Governor Newsom announced yesterday a new executive order that workers who contract COVID-19 while on the job may be eligible to receive workers’ compensation.
Orange County COVID-19 cases continue
Orange County Health officials announced Wednesday 131 new coronavirus infections, the second highest in a single day since the outbreak began.
Orange County receives $900,000 for dislocated workers
Orange County residents who lost employment due to COVID-19 are eligible for the Orange County Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA) program. The $900,000 grant came from the California Employment Development Department and will support approximately 1,500 residents with up to $800.
UCI IN THE NEWS - COVID-19 Article List
The New York Review of Books, May 28, 2020 issue
Why we need postal democracy
Voice of OC, May 7, 2020
Why does Orange County’s coronavirus testing still lag behind other large counties?
EdSource, May 6, 2020
Will others follow UC San Diego’s plan to widely test for coronavirus?
Meaww, May 6, 2020
As New York cases drop, Nebraska and Minnesota among states emerging as new coronavirus hotspots