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.

January 12 - Updates on COVID-19

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Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway

 The Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway catches sunset rays on the stairwell. Steve Zylius/UCI

TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES

New campus cases*

Six students and eight employees have tested positive for coronavirus since yesterday’s newsletter, bringing the active positive case count to 146. Visit the UCI dashboard for additional case count information.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

UCI alumna’s incubator provides lifeline for O.C. nonprofits during pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the budgets of Orange County charities this spring, UCI alumna Anne Olin’s nonprofit incubator, Charitable Ventures, was poised to step into the gap.

UCI Podcast: Running for City Council as a 24-year-old Ph.D. student

Dylan Green earned his bachelor’s degree at UCI and is now a Ph.D. student studying the origin of the universe in the Department of Physics & Astronomy. In this episode of the UCI Podcast, he discusses what he learned about running for office and why he thinks more scientists and young people should get involved in politics.

Upcoming events

GENERAL COVID-19 NEWS

This section curates noteworthy coronavirus news, trends and opinions. No endorsement by UCI is implied. Note: Some news sites require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and OC Register for students, faculty and staff.

Five things to know about the COVID-19 vaccine timeline

In this short YouTube video from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created last month, Paul Ostrowski, Director of Supply, Production and Distribution for Operation Warp Speed, explains how the operation leveraged breakthroughs in science and manufacturing to accelerate the development of a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine in record time.

Samaritan’s Purse sends field hospital to California

Samaritan’s Purse has sent a 50-plus bed emergency field hospital to California to provide COVID-19 care support. The organization airlifted the hospital to Los Angeles County at the request of Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California. The 50-plus bed facility, equipped as a respiratory care unit, will be staffed by a Samaritan’s Purse DART (disaster assistance response team) that includes doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.

Two gorillas in California contract the coronavirus

Members of a troop of gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus. Last Wednesday, two of the gorillas developed a cough and showed other mild symptoms. Park staff tested the animals. A fecal examination detected the virus last Friday, and the results were confirmed by the Agriculture Department’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories on Monday.

L.A. students must get COVID-19 vaccine

Once COVID-19 vaccines are available to children, Los Angeles students will have to be immunized before they can return to campus, Supt. Austin Beutner said Monday. Beutner however, did not suggest that campuses remain closed until then. Instead, he said, the state should set standards for reopening all schools, clearly justify the directives, and then require campuses to open when the standards are achieved.

HOPE, INSPIRATION, LAUGHTER

Amid the heartbreaking loss of life and economic hardship wrought by the coronavirus, we recognize the need for stories of kindness, hope, courage and humor.

‘Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical’ has raised over $1 million for struggling actors

The online sensation that became “Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical” has raised over $1 million for the Actors Fund organization and struggling performers impacted by the pandemic. The musical premiered on the social media platform New Year’s Day and featured household names including Wayne Brady, Titus Burgess and Adam Lambert.

#UCIconnected

What have you been up to during the pandemic? Send photos and/or words about your activities, workstation, volunteering or academic adventures to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.

cute baby with laptop

This UCI employee shares her home workstation complete with newborn baby. What does your home setup look like? Students and employees alike - we would love to see your photos!

EXPOSURE NOTIFICATION

* Potential workplace exposure: UCI provides this notification of a potential workplace COVID-19 exposure. Employees and subcontractors who were in these locations on the dates listed may have been exposed to the coronavirus. You may be entitled to various benefits under applicable federal and state laws and University-specific policies and agreements. The full notification is available on the UCI Forward site. If you have been identified as a close contact to a COVID-19 case, the UCI Contact Tracing Program will contact you and provide additional direction.