June 23, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
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Thanks to the low transmission rate of COVID-19 in California and as a result of changes to state and local COVID-19 health orders, UC Santa Barbara is updating the campus’s COVID-19 policies and implementing the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standards workplace regulations enacted by the California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal OSHA) Standards Board on June 17, 2021.
Cal/OSHA regulations largely mirror the California Department of Public Health’s current face covering and physical distancing guidelines for the general public in situations outside the workplace, as well as providing for employee symptom screening before coming to work and verification of COVID-19 vaccination status.
The COVID-19 Response Team will closely monitor changes to state and UC policies, including the proposed mandatory vaccination policy, and will send updates and post changes on the campus COVID-19 website throughout the summer in anticipation of resuming in-person instruction this fall.
The following summary is meant as a guide to help faculty and staff navigate these restrictions during this summer’s transition back to campus.
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Symptom Screening and Training
- All faculty, staff, researchers, and students returning to work on campus will need to enroll in and complete the daily symptom survey to obtain a “cleared to work” digital badge. Enrollment information can be found here.
- All employees must also complete the “COVID-19 Returning to Work” training course required by Cal/OSHA, which is available through the UC Learning Center.
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Masks
- Any employee who chooses to do so may continue to wear face coverings in any setting.
- Unvaccinated individuals are required to wear face coverings in all indoor campus spaces and in vehicles used during the course and scope of employment.
- Cal/OSHA recommends the use of face coverings outdoors when working within 6 feet of other people.
- Unvaccinated individuals do not need to wear a face covering in the following situations:
- Alone in an enclosed office.
- Individuals younger than two years old.
- A medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a mask.
- They are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.
- Wearing a mask would create a risk related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.
- Face coverings may be removed briefly for eating and drinking, but 6 feet distance from others must be maintained during periods when face coverings are removed.
- Vaccinated individuals are not required to wear face coverings indoors or outdoors, except under certain conditions.
- Conditions under which vaccinated individuals must wear face coverings:
- On public transit (examples: airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares) and in transportation hubs (examples: airport, bus terminal, marina, train station, seaport or other port, subway station, or any other area that provides transportation).
- Indoors in K-12 schools, childcare and other youth settings.
- Healthcare settings (including long term care facilities).
- Healthcare facilities on campus, such as Student Health and other behavioral health counseling offices, are still required to have all individuals use face coverings while in those facilities regardless of vaccination status.
- Respirators (N95) - Any employee may request and be provided an N95 respirator from their supervisor if needed. Information on respirator fitting can be found here.
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Testing
- Unvaccinated students are required to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing to gain access to the campus.
- UC Santa Barbara will continue to provide COVID-19 testing to any employee or student.
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Occupancy
- In accordance with state guidelines, there are no occupancy limits in any laboratories or offices.
- Indoor group meetings should have fewer than 5000 participants.
- Outdoor events should have fewer than 10,000 participants.
- Bathrooms have no occupancy restrictions.
- UC Santa Barbara Building Committees can discontinue scheduling and limiting density in any location.
- Building Committees no longer need to track visitors or students or maintain schedules.
- Buildings should be open to all faculty as well as to graduate students, research staff, and administrative staff who are cleared by their supervisors to work on-site.
- Building Committees need to request that buildings be unlocked and open.
- For buildings that have key access, a work request should be submitted through https://www.workrequests.ucsb.edu/. Under the “Details” comment section, add the note, “Request to restore our normal building lock and unlock schedule on [enter effective date]." Please allow 2 business days to process the request once the work ticket has been submitted.
- For additional assistance, please contact Customer Service Dispatch at (805) 893-8300. Those in buildings with access control, should work through the building’s Department Access Control (DAC) representative to make any changes.
- Building Committees need to maintain a master list of authorized occupants. This includes staff, faculty, and student employees. It is recommended that they work with department representatives to regularly update the lists of faculty and student employees who have office assignments in the building.
- For the summer, a master list of all undergraduate researchers working on campus will be maintained by Hilary Campbell in the Office of Research. Students who have not been verified as fully vaccinated will require weekly COVID-19 testing to obtain a “cleared to work” badge.
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Work Site Safety Plans
- The work site safety plans (WSSPs) previously developed by Building Committees, including any standard operation procedures for laboratories, should remain in place and may be revised in the upcoming weeks.
- As part of the WSSPs, Building Committees will need to maintain a list of all employees and student researchers who will work or have space assignments in buildings, as noted above. This is necessary in the event of a positive COVID-19 case and the need for contact tracing. To facilitate this process, it is recommended that the lists of faculty and staff be generated by academic departments and provided to the Building Committees and Katie Mankins, who oversees the daily symptom survey.
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Distancing
- Employees do not need to maintain a specific distance, whether indoors or outdoors.
- Exceptions: Unvaccinated persons with their face coverings removed should maintain a 6-foot distance from others.
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Vaccine Verification (Summer 2021)
- Self-attestation of COVID-19 vaccination status will be acceptable for the interim summer period, until UC finalizes its vaccine program requirements for fall.
- Self-attestation of vaccination and clearance to work as a vaccinated employee will be completed through the daily symptom survey.
- In anticipation of a requirement for vaccine verification with the State immunization database, faculty, staff and students are encouraged to upload their COVID-19 vaccination documentation via the Student Health Patient Portal Gateway under “Medical Clearances” for future verification. (Not necessary for those who obtained vaccinations on campus.)
- Supervisors may ask employees to demonstrate they have met the “cleared to work indoors without a mask requirement” by asking to see the employee’s green “cleared to work” badge. Supervisors with questions regarding issues related to compliance should use Human Resources’ Employee and Labor Relations Service Now portal.
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Barriers
- Physical barriers such as plexiglass partitions are no longer required.
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Food and Beverages
- There are no restrictions to eating or drinking with others, provided that unvaccinated individuals maintain a 6-foot distance from all others when their face coverings are removed.
- Note that until the fall, few on-campus vendors will be available to provide food or beverage. Faculty and staff should plan accordingly.
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Ventilation
- There are no limitations to room occupancy based on ventilation requirements.
- All campus HVAC systems have been evaluated. For those with recirculating ventilation systems, inflow of outside air has already been maximized, as required by Cal/OSHA.
- Windows and doors should be opened in rooms where permitted.
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Cleaning and Disinfection
- Regular hand washing and cleaning of surfaces are recommended.
- Disinfection should be performed in work sites where there has been a COVID-19 exposure.
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Outbreaks and New COVID-19 Cases
- The revised Cal/OSHA guidelines include specific requirements in the event of a minor or major COVID-19 outbreak in the workplace. The campus will continue to rely on the COVID-19 response team, which is prepared to conduct testing and detailed contact tracing in the event of an outbreak.
- Please continue to report any COVID-19 cases on campus to the campus COVID-19 Call Center at ucsb-covid19@ucsb.edu or (805) 893-3113.
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Recreation Center
- The Recreation Center is transitioning to allow for greater usage and for indoor activities without reservations, in accordance with state guidelines.
- Visitors must be cleared to access the Recreation Center (daily symptom screening and cleared to visit with or without a face covering).
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Library
- Reservations are no longer required, except for group study rooms.
- Campus community members must complete the daily symptom screening to be cleared to use the UC Santa Barbara Library, with or without face coverings.
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Sincerely,
Scott Grafton, M.D.
Campus COVID-19 Mitigation Program Manager and Professor of Psychology & Brain Sciences
Stuart Feinstein
COVID-19 Response Team Coordinator and Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology
Vejas Skripkus, M.D.
Executive Director of SHS and Campus Physician
Mary Ferris, M.D.
Campus COVID-19 Clinical Advisor
Renée E. Bahl
Associate Vice Chancellor for Design, Facilities & Safety Services
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