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Return to Learn Weekly, from UC San Diego

December 8, 2020
The purpose of this weekly newsletter is to provide the campus community with important updates and recent news related to the Return to Learn program. If you have specific questions or would like to submit feedback about the program, please email rtl@ucsd.edu.

In Case You Missed It

CA Covid Notify App Expands Statewide

Starting Dec. 10, CA Covid Notify will become available to all Californians in partnership with UC San Diego Health. The phone app was first piloted at UC San Diego and more than 50 exposure notifications have already been anonymously triggered to help protect the campus community.

Q&A: Ramping up Safety in the Purple Tier

San Diego County moved into the purple tier on Nov. 10. In response, UC San Diego has expanded health interventions to maintain a low positivity rate, including transitioning all classes to remote or outdoor, introducing self-administered testing kits for students, expanding the number of wastewater samplers and more.

New Student Testing Kit Pick-Up Location

Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to conduct COVID-19 testing via self-administered testing kits. It is recommended you blow your nose beforehand—less mucus is better! Also, a new pick-up location has opened at Muir College in the Mariposa Room.

Upcoming Town Halls

Faculty Town Hall

Wednesday, Dec. 9, 3:00 p.m.
Join us as campus leaders share updates on the Return to Learn program and address your questions related to campus operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Register
Staff Town Hall | Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 4:00 p.m.


NYT: Bringing Back More Students in the Spring
Triton Health Ambassadors at UC San Diego
UC San Diego was recently featured in the New York Times as one of a few schools across the country that have established a combination of public health interventions that have proven successful, allowing more students to safely return in the spring.

Your Top Questions Answered

Question: What stay at home orders are currently in place in San Diego?
Answer: A state-mandated Regional Stay Home Order was announced Dec. 3 as well as a supplemental order that went into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6 in response to less than 15% ICU availability in San Diego County. These orders prohibit gatherings of any size among people from different households; modifies operations of restaurants, retail, places of worship, offices, hotels and recreation centers to outdoor, low capacity and take-out only; and requires masking and physical distancing. The order does allow access to critical services as well as outdoor activities to preserve Californians’ physical and mental health. Read the full Regional Stay Home Order.
Question: What are UC San Diego’s safety guidelines?
Answer: Public health is a collective effort. The entire campus community is expected to follow campus safety guidelines to help prevent infection.
  • Masking: Everyone must wear a face covering at any UC San Diego location. Students living in campus-operated housing are required to maintain distance and wear masks at all times within their apartments and suites, except in their own private bedrooms and in the shower.
  • Symptom and Exposure Screening: All UC San Diego students who live on campus or visit the campus for class or other activities must conduct a daily symptom and exposure screening. All employees who are reporting to campus or conducting research in a university lab must conduct a daily symptom and exposure screening for days they will be on site. 
  • COVID-19 Testing: All undergraduate and graduate students who are living on UC property or are coming to campus or any UC location/property are required to conduct a free asymptomatic test twice a month. Employees are recommended to do the same on a voluntary basis.
  • Physical Distancing: Physical distancing of six feet or more shall be maintained in all areas.
See more questions and answers.
University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093
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