UC NEWS
Friday Fun Fact
UC retirees: With nearly 60,000 of the University of California’s almost 77,000 retirees residing in California, their UC pension benefits contribute to their communities.
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.
Just in time for the Super Bowl the CDC issues guidance for large gatherings
Attending large gatherings like the Super Bowl increases your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19. The safest way to watch the Super Bowl this year is at home with people you live with. If you choose to attend the Super Bowl or a large Super Bowl event, like a watch party this year, follow these steps to make yourself safer.
Ford receives a patent for a new, clear respirator mask
Ford Motor Company is best known for its cars, but in the Covid-19 pandemic, the manufacturer is branching out. Ford has received patent-pending approval for a new, clear respirator mask, the company announced this week, one they expect to work just as well as an N95.
Event planners step in to manage vaccinations
The race director of the Boston Marathon, which is on hold until fall, has been tapped by the state of Massachusetts to run mass vaccination operations at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park. Idled at his day job by the pandemic, he’s part of an emerging group of event organizers and other unconventional logistics experts who are using their skills to help the nation vaccinate as many people against Covid-19 as possible.
Those who violate the US transportation mask mandate face fines
The Transportation Security Administration announced that those who violate the federal transportation face mask requirement face a $250 fine that increases for each repeated offense, up to $1,500.
More than 600 coronavirus variant cases have been identified in the US
According to the CDC, the US has reported 618 cases of coronavirus variants across 33 states. The majority of these cases are the more contagious variant known as B.1.1.7 which was originally detected in the UK.
New bill aims to speed up the reopening of California theme parks
Two Southern California legislators have introduced a bill that seeks to allow larger theme parks to reopen sooner. This would place large theme parks like Disneyland, Universal Studios, and Magic Mountain, on the same timeline as smaller parks.
COVID-19 vaccines this week in the US outnumbered new cases 10 to 1
In the past week, more than 9 million COVID-19 vaccines were administered across the US, which is nearly ten times more than the 958,965 new cases reported in the same seven-day period.
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.
Meet the groundskeeper, 92, who’s worked every single Super Bowl in history
Legendary groundskeeper George Toma, 92, whose other nicknames include “The Sodfather” and “The God of Sod,” will be working his 55th Super Bowl on Sunday. He began back in Super Bowl I when the Green Bay Packers beat the Chiefs in 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Want to hire a goat for your Zoom meeting?
A farmer who was half kidding when she suggested hiring out her goats out for Zoom meetings during lockdown has said making £50,000 shows it was no joke.
#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.
