The Update:
Last week in their regular campus update, our colleagues at UCSF told faculty and staff: “Expect policy changes on a weekly basis.”
As frustrating as that sounds, it is the world in which we live now. We must adapt to ever-shifting guidance from federal, state and county officials — not only public health but also workplace safety officials. We will always let you know what we learn, but as UCSF suggested, we all have to be comfortable with flexibility for the short term.
As we begin returning more fully to campus next week, there is some critical information we can share:
- Our Campus Ready/ Do Your Part site will be the primary repository for faculty, staff, and student information for the ramp-up to fall instruction. Please bookmark and refer to it regularly.
- Offices, labs and classrooms are permitted for all work. Individuals must still comply with our mitigation measures outlined in our interim policy and on the Do Your Part site.
- Current policy is that all employees must wear face coverings in the workplace, but we expect updated guidance within the week to align with the adjusted Cal-OSHA emergency temporary standards, with some additional local mitigation measures in alignment with UC systemwide guidance still in development.
- Employees can now upload their vaccination information here . We still expect the University of California to issue a vaccination mandate for faculty, staff and students as of July 15.
- By July 15, we will have a process for employees to apply for a medical exemption or religious exception. Those who receive an exemption or exception should expect to comply with additional mitigation measures such as face coverings, asymptomatic testing and attestation of daily health check this fall.
- We know there are those concerned with getting the vaccine. We will be sharing more expert advice over coming weeks, but in the meantime, here is a good place to start educating yourself and your loved ones about vaccine safety and efficacy.
- The checkpoint on our main campus has been discontinued. Visitors are permitted for all university business. Hosts must have visitors follow our local mitigation measures; visitors are still required to utilize a face covering and symptom-screen at this time. Further guidance is in development for larger events and gatherings with individuals who are not affiliated with the University.
We recognize that there will be many adjustments over the next few weeks and we will do our best to bring clarity to these changes. Similarly, some of our teams will be adjusting routines and operations. As we strive for patience through these processes, I’m thankful that the UC Merced community continues to do its part in overcoming the pandemic and will be able to operate on campus fully this fall.
#BobcatsAreBack
Andrew Boyd,
Chief Resilience Officer
