August 6 - Updates on COVID-19
Section 1
CAMPUS SNAPSHOT
Campus bloom. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI.
UCI UPDATES
Check out the refreshed UCI COVID website
If you haven’t visited www.uci.edu/coronavirus in a while, it’s time to check back in. The new layout creates a more organized user experience to find what you need to know about returning to campus, fall operations, building etiquette and more. Check back often as information is constantly updated.
Positive cases and recoveries
One employee tested positive for COVID-19 and one previously positive coworker has clinically recovered and cleared to return to work. For a cumulative case count, as well as how to report a case, please visit www.uci.edu/coronavirus.
Become an Anteater Pledge Ambassador
COVID-19 is a global pandemic, and it has touched our UCI community. If you are passionate about educating your UCI peers and making a positive impact on the campus community, apply to be an Anteater Pledge Ambassador. You will volunteer for the 2020-2021 academic school year and will participate in getting timely information and resources about COVID-19 to the campus community. No health education experience is necessary, and individuals selected will receive training. Faculty, staff and students are all welcome to apply. Applications are due August 20.
Campus parking permit updates
Beginning Tuesday, September 1, valid parking permits must be displayed for on-campus parking. We have enhanced the myCommute portal for online parking permit purchases to support physical distancing practices and provided a new option for employees who are coming to campus less frequently. Please log in to myCommute and explore your employee or student parking solutions. Purchase your permit at least two weeks before its activation date for contactless delivery. For questions regarding your commute or parking needs, please email parking@uci.edu.
UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND STORIES
Break room etiquette (video)
The UCI Medical Center addressed break room etiquette and how we can all work together to prevent transmission by practicing social distancing, masking and hand hygiene. Please take a moment to watch these three short videos:
Errors in Break Room Etiquette
Robots to the rescue
The pandemic’s restrictions on person-to-person interaction have upended the conventional means of helping people deal with a crisis. At the same time, the situation highlights the potential benefits of socially assistive robots, according to Jeffrey Krichmar, UCI professor of cognitive sciences. “In general, I don’t think the public is very aware of what these robots can do to improve our lives,” he says. “There’s more education that needs to be done. I hope COVID-19 will be a wakeup call to our robotics community to spur new ideas.”
17th Annual National Choreographers Initiative postponed
For over a decade, UCI Dance Chair and Professor Molly Lynch has been partnering with Irvine Barclay Theatre for the National Choreographers Initiative (NCI). After careful consideration, the NCI Advisory Committee decided to postpone the 17th annual NCI from July 25, 2020 to July 24, 2021. We felt that postponing the NCI project and performance to next summer was the best course of action to protect the health of our dancers, choreographers, and audience members.
UCI COVID-19 VIRTUAL EVENTS
Anti-Cancer Challenge
Running from August 8 through October 3, the UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge includes weekly virtual ride/run/walk fitness challenges, virtual wellness classes, and educational webinars. Opening ceremonies will be streamed online on Oct. 3, followed by a final opportunity to track your miles by riding, running or walking wherever you are. UCI employees who register for the UCI Anti-Cancer Challengeand log activity on the UCI Anti-Cancer Challenge app, will earn a 2020 UC Walks T-shirt, while supplies last. UCI employee teams can also earn additional separate Step Up UCI team prizes for team activity milestones.
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.
Stranded by virus, honeymooners hitch home on Antarctic boat
Their adventure began on Leap Day, Feb. 29, when they were married at their Auckland home. They arrived on the Falkland Islands for their honeymoon on March 7, just as the pandemic was worsening. Few of their options for getting home were realistic. The only possible flights were convoluted routes through Britain or Africa and the prospect of lengthy quarantines along the way.
In coronavirus quarantine, musicians give neighbors a treat
Musicians, longing to connect with friends and neighbors, and eager to practice their art, have taken to their porches, patios, driveways, yards and even vehicles to play for passersby. The unexpected melodies have brought joy to listeners and a sense of emotional togetherness during a time of physical distance.
COMMUNITY UPDATES & NEWS
Note: Some news organizations require subscriptions to read articles. The UCI Libraries offer free subscriptions to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal for students, faculty and staff.
Census 2020
The U.S. Census Bureau continues to evaluate its operational plans to collect and process 2020 Census data. We are announcing updates to our plan that will include enumerator awards and the hiring of more employees to accelerate the completion of data collection and apportionment counts by our statutory deadline of December 31, 2020. The Census Bureau’s new plan reflects our continued commitment to conduct a complete count, provide accurate apportionment data, and protect the health and safety of the public and our workforce.
California Department of Education release Distance Learning FAQs
Under Governor Newsom’s orders, school will start the fall with distance learning. In order to aid parents and districts with the new learning practices, the California Department of Education has released online resources to answer questions.
17,000 prisoners could be released early due to COVID-19
California state prison officials say as many as 17,600 inmates may be released early due to the coronavirus. This is 70% more than previously estimated and a total that victims and police say includes dangerous criminals who should stay locked up.
LA County won’t consider reopening waivers for elementary schools until COVID-19 case rate drops
Los Angeles County health officials announced that they will not consider any applications for waivers to open elementary schools for in-person instruction.
Orange County youth and coronavirus
Though COVID-19 is generally uncommon and leads to less serious complications in younger patients, every city in Orange County has children who have tested positive for the coronavirus. More than half of pediatric COVID-19 patients in Orange County are teenagers, specifically 15 through 17 years old. Another 16% are 3 years old and younger.
Mission Inn’s Festival of Lights in Riverside will go on, despite coronavirus
It will be a muted festival this year, but the 28th annual Mission Inn Hotel & Spa Festival of Lights in Riverside will still happen this year, pandemic or no pandemic. The Riverside City Council voted unanimously to fund a limited version of the festival that will lack a switch-on ceremony, fireworks, horse-drawn carriage and crowds gathered outside the hotel.
COVID-19 public health measures may help flu season
According to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the public health measures across the country, like handwashing and mask-wearing, “might really, really blunt the flu season.”
Additional 1.2 million Americans filed for first-time jobless benefits
Another 1.2 million Americans sought jobless aid after the $600 weekly federal checks ended. The number of jobless claims did decline by 249,000 from the previous week.
LAX vending machines now have masks, gloves, thermometers
LAX offers vending machines that have masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, and digital thermometers. These vending machines are in Terminals 1,2,4,5,6,7 and in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
U.S. Supreme Court blocks judge order that OC jails take better care of inmates exposed to COVID-19
The U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court order that the Orange County jail system practice social distancing, distribute hand sanitizer and keep the facilities clean to avoid spreading COVID-19.
UCI IN THE NEWS - COVID-19 Article List
TIME, Aug. 6, 2020
How COVID-19 changed everything about the 2020 election
The Atlantic Aug. 5, 2020
The winter will be worse
The Cut, Aug. 5, 2020
What will a second lockdown look like?
Forbes, Aug. 5, 2020
This banking change could deliver your second stimulus check faster
KPCC, Aug. 5, 2020 (Audio)
COVID 19 AMA: Worldwide virus-related deaths top 700,000
Business Insider, Aug. 4, 2020
Congress is remarkably unprepared for a contested presidential election. Here’s how it could play out this November
Vox, July 31, 2020
The slow-motion 2020 election disaster states are scrambling to prevent, explained
CNN, Aug. 5, 2020
Fact check: At briefing, Trump continues to mislead on coronavirus, mail-in voting and Beirut
ABC7, Aug. 5, 2020
Mother and daughter donate stress relief candles to healthcare workers
Voice of OC, Aug. 5, 2020
OC youth sports largely cancelled as coronavirus transmission rates remain clouded by uncertainty
Politico, Aug. 6, 2020
The world has shown it’s possible to avert COVID-caused election meltdowns. But the U.S. is unique.
Futurity, Aug. 6, 2020
Will COVD-19 spur new robot ‘Friends’ and helpers?
MedicalXPress, Aug. 6, 2020
Scientists get ‘initial hit’ in developing drug to treat COVID-19
Law.com, Aug. 5, 2020 (Subscription required)
Law schools that planned to return to campus in fall are reversing course
Politifact, Aug 6, 2020
Donald Trump, Children are “almost immune from this disease.”
MORE INFORMATION
OC-COVID19.org - powered by UCI and UCI Health, a website devoted to providing timely, useful, evidence-based information about the novel coronavirus pandemic to our friends and neighbors across Orange County
UCI Coronavirus Information Hub - more information on campus status and operational updates
UCI Health COVID-19 Updates - important information related to UCI Health