Division of Finance & Administration colleagues,
Earlier today, it was announced that UC Merced will, effective immediately, require everyone to wear face coverings indoors , including people who are vaccinated. In doing so, the university joins numerous governments (including the State of California) and major companies in taking additional steps with their employees against the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease.
In addition to the indoor requirement, all individuals must wear face coverings on UC Merced-operated public transit or while traveling in fleet vehicles when not alone. Also, vaccinated individuals are required to take two randomly assigned, on-campus COVID-19 tests per semester. You will be contacted by the COVID Response Center on when to take the tests, which are free of charge to employees and students.
These new requirements do not affect DFA’s phased plan for the return to on-site work. Staff members are currently expected to be on-site 20% of the time over a two-week period. That will increase to 40% on Monday, Aug. 23. The phased plan applies to all DFA staff in the Downtown Campus Center as well as to DFA staff who have work on the main campus and worn face coverings during their shifts for more than a year.
When fall semester instruction begins Aug. 25, thousands of students and their instructors will wear face coverings in classrooms. Our colleagues have shown incredible resilience throughout the pandemic. In the spirit of community, we need to support colleagues who will follow health protocols while performing in-person instruction and research.
Please read the details of the new guidance, and refer to the Campus Ready website for further information about vaccination, testing and safety protocols.
I encourage you to attend the Return to Campus Virtual Open Office Hours , noon to 1 p.m. daily from Aug. 11-13, to put your questions or concerns directly to campus leaders. If you have additional questions, please reach out at dofa@ucmerced.edu.
Take care,
Kurt Schnier | Interim Vice Chancellor and Chief Financial Officer
