June 7 - Updates on COVID-19

Sign of the times: A mask to go with your munchies. Photo by Ian Parker

TODAY’S CAMPUS UPDATES

No weekend campus cases*

The streak continues with no student residents or on-campus employees testing positive for COVID-19 from Friday through Sunday. For more information, visit the UCI COVID-19 dashboard.

UCI COVID-19 NEWS AND EVENTS

Chancellor Howard Gillman appears with Chancellor Emeritus Michael V. Drake, who now serves as UC president, at UCI’s newly christened Michael Drake Drive. Photo by Steve Zylius/UCI

UCI renames street to honor former chancellor

To honor Chancellor Emeritus Michael V. Drake for his leadership of UCI during an era of unprecedented growth, the university has renamed the stretch of Bison Avenue between California Avenue and Ring Road.

UCI baseball team advances

The Anteaters won twice Sunday, routing North Dakota State, 18-3, and coming back to top Stanford, 8-4, to survive into tonight’s Regional Final. The 7 p.m. showdown will air on ESPN3, ESPNU and KUCI.

#IamUCI: Katherine Lingle

Katherine Lingle has been dancing since she was 3 years old, so when she started thinking of her future after high school, the idea of not dancing for the rest of her life was “foreign and upsetting,” she says. UCI was her first choice to begin realizing her dream of being a professional dancer. Lingle knew that the Claire Trevor School of the Arts had an outstanding dance department and that she would receive stellar training and opportunities as a student. She has since starred in a number of productions, such as this year's virtual concerts: “Dance Visions,” in which she performed “Scriabin Dances,” a solo work by Lar Lubovitch; and “Physical Graffiti,” which showcased her own choreography. Lingle has also served as co-chair of the dance department’s Community Student Advising Committee, and she’s an executive member of the Bare Bones Dance Theater organization at UCI. Despite the challenges of being a dance major during a pandemic, she has found a silver lining: “I discovered new ways to fuel my creative genius and learned how to motivate myself to continue dancing despite physical limitations.”

Ideas sought for higher education festival

The Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning is calling for panels, events, workshops or other creative forums for The Futures of Higher Education Festival, tentatively scheduled for the third week of the fall quarter.

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, OC Register and Washington Post for students, faculty and staff.

COVID state of emergency won’t end June 15, Newsom says

California’s COVID-19 state of emergency order will remain in place beyond June 15, despite plans to reopen the state’s economy on that date, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday.

How does COVID end in US? With an ‘acceptable’ death rate

In a “good” flu season, nearly 100 Americans die per day. A similar death rate may be what Americans will tolerate from COVID.

New type of vaccine could soon debut

It works somewhat differently from the current crop of COVID vaccines, but is based on a well-understood technology and doesn't require special refrigeration. The Novavax inoculation could become available this summer. 

First cruise ship sails from North America since 2020 

Celebrity Cruises crossed a major hurdle on the high seas this weekend as its Celebrity Millennium became the first ship to sail with guests from North America in more than a year.

US sending 80 million vaccine doses abroad 

The U.S. plans to distribute 80 million vaccine doses internationally between now and the end of July. Roughly 6 million doses will be distributed across Latin America, including the Caribbean, 7 million will go to South and Southeast Asia, and 5 million to Africa.

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.

A day with New York’s bird paramedics

During migration season, tens of thousands of birds crash into the city’s skyscrapers. Volunteer EMTs try to help.

#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 COVID-19 vaccination, activities, workstation, volunteering, etc., to marketing@uci.edu or post on social media with the #UCIconnected hashtag.