Jun 21, 2021

Good news, colleagues. Starting Monday, fully vaccinated UCI employees will no longer need to wear masks at work and physical distancing requirements will end for everyone on campus. Yesterday, Cal/OSHA revised its workplace regulations to align with state and CDC guidelines and Gov. Newsom followed up with an executive order to have the new rules take effect today.

To allow time for UCI to update its executive directives, Cal/OSHA’s revised regulations will take effect Monday, June 21, on campus. Here is a brief rundown of what the state’s actions mean for UCI:

Physical distancing

  • No physical distancing or barriers between workers are required, regardless of employees’ vaccination status, unless there is an outbreak (see below).
  • Unvaccinated employees eating or drinking indoors must be at least 6 feet apart from others.

Face coverings

  • Fully vaccinated employees may work indoors without face coverings, even if unvaccinated co-workers are present.
  • Unvaccinated employees must continue to wear masks indoors, unless alone in a room or a vehicle. Upon request, UCI will provide voluntary-use respirators to unvaccinated or vaccinated employees.
  • No face coverings are required for anyone outdoors, unless there is an outbreak of COVID-19 cases (see below).

Outbreaks and Quarantines

  • If an outbreak of three or more cases occurs in an exposed employee group, UCI must evaluate whether physical distancing or barriers are necessary to control transmission of the virus. If an outbreak of at least 20 cases happens, masks must be worn by all workers indoors and outdoors where 6-foot distancing cannot be maintained.
  • Fully vaccinated workers with no COVID-19 symptoms do not need to be tested or quarantined if they are exposed to the virus.

The new regulations also pave the way for the Office of Research to transition to Phase 4, the final step in reopening campus research. More information on this transition will be sent early next week to campus researchers.

As always, your health and well-being remain our top priority and we will continue to monitor the situation on campus and follow all state, federal and local public health guidelines. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as UCI reopens this summer and prepares to resume full campus operations this fall.

And please continue to take care of yourself and stay safe.

Sincerely,

Hal Stern
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Chancellor’s Professor, Department of Statistics