Update on COVID-19 planning and testing

After months of preparation, we are excited that the fall quarter has officially begun. Though the start of this fall looks different, it still marks an important milestone for our Slug community. Whether you are physically on campus or working, teaching and learning remotely, we want to ensure you are updated on the latest campus COVID-19 planning efforts.

A foundational element of successful mitigation of the spread of COVID-19 is for every member of our campus community to play a role and do their part. When we rolled out the COVID-19 Interim Public Health Policy in September, we highlighted several actions that every Slug should take. This emphasized participating in the asymptomatic testing program. 

Participation in the asymptomatic testing program is a cornerstone to our campus recovery and resiliency plans. It is a key element to our ability to detect potential outbreaks early. Best practices include frequent testing, immediate intervention for positive cases including contact tracing and isolation of individuals who have tested positive for the virus. These practices are especially important in locations that have large residential communities with shared facilities. Our campus asymptomatic testing approach is outlined below. Note that population requirements and frequencies are subject to change as conditions and/or state and local guidance changes. 

“On site" refers to any UCSC owned or operated facility where students or employees come to live, work or otherwise engage in programs, services and activities; includes UCSC sponsored programs, meetings, field research, etc., hosted at off site venues.

• Students (Undergraduate and Graduate) who are living in university housing or are on-site for classes, research or other activities will be required to have a weekly COVID-19 test. Students living on campus have already begun this process. Though the current frequency is once a week, that is anticipated to increase to twice a week later in the quarter. 

  • Instructions for participating in this mandatory testing can be found here.

• Students living off-campus in Santa Cruz County, even if they are not accessing campus for other purposes, may volunteer to participate in weekly testing offered by the campus. This frequency will move to twice a week later in the quarter. 

  • Instructions for how to access this voluntary testing can be found here.

• Live-in Residential staff may volunteer to have once a week asymptomatic tests. This frequency is expected to move to twice a week later in the quarter. 

  • Instructions for how to access this voluntary testing can be found here.

• Other populations who are on-site, including our faculty and staff who are accessing campus locations, will be offered voluntary asymptomatic tests once a month. This frequency will move to twice a month later in the quarter. 

  • Instructions for how to access this voluntary testing can be found here.

The information outlined above is for asymptomatic testing. Students who are symptomatic or who have been exposed to a COVID-19 positive person should outreach to the Student Health Center. Employees who are symptomatic or have been exposed should outreach to their primary care physician. 

We will be hosting a COVID-19 information forum the week of Oct. 19. A separate announcement with details will be sent out next week. The forum will be recorded for those unable to attend. If you would like to submit a question in advance of the forum or if you have an idea for a COVID-19 topic you would like to see be the focus of forums later this quarter, you can submit that information here.

Thank you to everyone who has worked diligently to support the campus COVID-19 recovery and resiliency efforts. More information on our planning efforts, including the draft recovery plan and briefing book, is on our recovery site at recovery.ucsc.edu.