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 29 - Updates on COVID-19

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CAMPUS SNAPSHOT

ISEB with snowy mountains

UCI’s brand new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB) in the foreground of this winter landscape. Steve Zylius/UCI.

TODAY'S CAMPUS UPDATES

COVID-19 Policies and Testing Updates & Reminders

This week, the California Department of Public Health lifted the regional stay at-home order. The release of this order has little impact on the campus since Orange County is in the Purple Tier. As a reminder, the following policies remain in effect:

New campus cases*

Six students and one employee reported testing positive yesterday. There are currently 70 active positive cases.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Upcoming events

UC NEWS

Boost your career this year with the UC Alumni Career Network

Each month, join UC alumni and other members of the UC community for real-world, pertinent advice on some of the trickiest challenges that today’s professionals face.

All-time record-high number of applicants apply to UC, with Chicano/Latino students comprising largest proportion

As reported yesterday, UCI received nearly 134,000 applications for fall 2021 setting a new campus record. The University of California announced that the system received for fall 2021 admission the highest number of undergraduate applications in its history. Highlights among California freshmen include a jump in overall applications and surges among African American and Chicano/Latino students.

Friday Fun Fact

Caring for California: Seventy two percent of UC health science students and 61 percent of medical residents are expected to remain in California after completing training or education, making UC Health one of the principal sources for the training of health professionals for California.

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.

County of Orange launches emergency rental assistance program

The County of Orange will launch an Emergency Rental Assistance program on February 1, 2021 and will accept applications for a period of one month from eligible renter households with unpaid rent or utilities bills due to the impact of COVID-19.

Johnson & Johnson single-dose COVID vaccine is 66% effective

Johnson & Johnson said its single-dose vaccine was 66% effective overall in preventing COVID-19 in its global clinical trial, and 85% effective in preventing severe disease. The trial included nearly 44,000 participants across the US, Latin America and South Africa, and the level of protection varied by region.

Maskless crowds pack Australian Open tennis exhibition in Covid-free Adelaide

Thousands of cheering fans packed the stands to watch some of tennis’ biggest stars warm up for the Australian Open -- with hardly a face mask to be seen. Australia has now had 12 days without a local infection in any of its states or territories.

Los Angeles residents stalk Covid vaccine sites in hopes of leftover doses

Los Angeles is vaccinating healthcare workers, first responders and residents older than 65. But as the region battles one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the US, people are chasing vaccine doses ahead of their allotted tier, queueing for hours, visiting sites after the official time ends. Information about where to show up for extra doses and when is typically passed word of mouth.

California reports 2nd highest daily total of COVID-19 deaths, but rate of new virus infections falling

California reported its second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, while the rates of new coronavirus infections and hospitalizations continue to drop. The total of 737 new deaths is second to the record 764 reported Jan. 22, according to the state Department of Public Health. California’s death toll since the start of the pandemic rose to nearly 39,000, while total cases topped 3.1 million. Hospitalizations and newly confirmed cases have been falling, however, and health officials are growing more optimistic that the worst of the latest surge is over.

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.

Man hits 2 deer with new car, then he hits $2M in lottery

Anthony Dowe had an accident on his way to work. It ruined his day, so he went back home, got into bed and went to sleep.

“Then I woke up and checked my tickets. I checked the fourth ticket and I saw the ‘4’ and then the next number and the next number and the next number,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Wow!’ It was just crazy.”

#UCIconnected

If you have a shoutout, or if you’d like to share what you’ve been up to during the pandemic, send photos and/or words about your activities, workstation, volunteering, etc., to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.

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.