Weekly COVID-19 Safety Update – Jan. 5, 2021
Welcome to the Research Insider Weekly COVID-19 Safety Update. This update will offer easy access to campus resources for the SOM. The buttons below are clickable and link to important procedural information; they will remain on this message each week for your reference. In addition, this message will feature updated safety news for the week. These weekly safety updates will be archived on the Important Phase 2 Research Ramp-Up Information webpage.

1. If you or a visitor to your unit on the SOM campus is confirmed or suspected to have COVID-19:
1. Follow the Steps Here to Report the Case

AND

2. Report the Case to Vice Dean for Basic Science Research, Geoff Abbott

2. For Information on COVID-19 Safety Policies and How to Report a Safety Concern:
HR Reporting Concerns

3. For General Information on Safety Issues or Procedures:
Visit the COVID-19 Safety Hub


New This Week

We hope everyone in the School of Medicine was able to stay safe and healthy over the holidays. Please take note of the following messages from campus in our bid to maximize safe and effective research as we begin 2021.

Travel
Employees returning from trips outside of California should quarantine for 14 days, according to UCI’s Executive Directive on Travel and California’s Travel Advisory for Non-Essential Travel. Supervisors and research plan owners should work with COEH to ensure that their team members follow this quarantine requirement. Please contact human resources or academic personnel if you have any questions.

Residential students returning to campus from any travel, including within California, are required to quarantine for 14 days. Additional student guidelines can be found in this update.

Employee virus testing begins
Starting Monday, Jan. 4, UCI began offering voluntary asymptomatic COVID testing for all onsite campus employees.

To test or not to test?
If that is the question, here’s a handy chart that answers how often different categories of students and UCI employees are required to be tested for COVID-19.

Helpful Links: --
Geoff Abbott
Vice Dean, Basic Research | Senior Associate Dean, Academic Personnel
UCI School of Medicine