Due to omicron, at least 5 UC campuses returning to remote-only classes to start 2022

At least five University of California campuses will delay their return to on-campus learning in early 2022, switching to remote instruction for at least the first two weeks of January in response to the omicron variant of COVID-19.

Turlock’s Stanislaus State, part of the California State University system, does not intend to take similar action at the start of the spring term, spokeswoman Rosalee Rush told The Modesto Bee by email Tuesday afternoon.

“Our campus’s collective efforts — to get vaccinated, adhere to weekly testing, wear face coverings inside all campus buildings, complete daily self-screenings and maintain 3 feet of physical distance — have allowed us to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus on campus,” Rush said.

The university delayed the start of in-person courses this fall to allow faculty, staff and students more time to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

Now, more than 77% of the campus community is fully vaccinated, Rush said.

Michael V. Drake, president of the University of California who is also a physician, sent a letter to the system’s 10 chancellors Tuesday, asking them “to design and implement a plan for a January return to campus that mitigates public health impacts, responds to the unique circumstances facing your campus, and maintains our teaching and research operations.”

“This may require campuses to begin the term using remote instruction in order to allow students to complete an appropriate testing protocol as they return to campus,” the letter continued, in part. “Given the differences in local conditions and campus operations across the University, the length of this remote instruction period may vary from campus to campus.”

On Tuesday afternoon, UC Davis Chancellor Gary May announced that winter quarter classes will resume remotely for the first week, from Jan. 3 through Jan. 7. That will give campus community members enough time to “secure a negative COVID-19 test” before attending classes or returning to work in person Jan. 10, he said in an update to the UC Davis winter quarter schedule posted online.

May said it’s critical to return before Jan. 3 and get a COVID test for people who leave the Davis area over winter break.

“Testing our entire community within just one week will put a strain on our operations, so please do not wait until January 6 or 7 to schedule your test,” May said in the online update. “We need to work together to get this done quickly in order to keep our campus healthy.”

Campus administration had planned to discontinue its COVID testing mandate for vaccinated people in mid-January. But May said they are now going to continue the campus fall quarter requirement of testing every two weeks for fully vaccinated people and testing every four days for unvaccinated people.

And May said UC Davis will enforce a UC systemwide mandate for a booster vaccine for all faculty, staff and students who do not have a vaccine exemption currently in place. By Jan. 31, everyone on campus must upload proof of receiving a vaccination booster through the UC Davis Health e-Messaging portal.

“If you have not already received a booster, we strongly encourage you to do so over winter break,” the UC Davis chancellor said. “If the timing of your original vaccination leaves you ineligible for a booster by January 31, you must submit confirmation that you have received a booster within fourteen days of becoming eligible.”

He said campus officials over the next few days will update the upcoming testing schedule on the Campus Ready website and send out information directly to students about housing and dining.

May applauded students, faculty and staff for their hard work in helping the UC Davis campus remain open throughout the fall quarter.

“Even as the COVID-19 Delta variant caused surges of infection elsewhere, our case rate stayed remarkably low,” May said in his update. “Whether on-campus or off-campus, Davis could boast, without exaggeration, of being one of the healthiest places in the nation during this pandemic.”

Instruction for the winter quarter is set to begin Jan. 3 at eight of the system’s 10 campuses. UC Berkeley and UC Merced, which run on a semester system rather than quarters, are slated to return Jan. 18.

The UC Riverside and UC San Diego chancellors’ offices in statements around noon Tuesday announced that instruction will be remote-only for two weeks. UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz made similar announcements a short time later, the latter doing so in a Twitter thread.

“UC San Diego is exercising caution and moving our instruction to a remote-only mode from Jan. 3 to Jan. 17,” Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla wrote. “During this time we will incrementally populate the campus using a more comprehensive testing regimen.”

Courses at UC Riverside “will be delivered remotely for the first two weeks of the winter quarter, with exceptions for off-campus field courses and internships that may continue to meet in-person,” wrote Kim A. Wilcox, chancellor of UC Riverside.

“The quarter will begin on Jan. 3 with remote instruction, and we expect to return to our planned winter quarter modes of instruction the week of Jan. 17,” Wilcox continued.

UC San Diego’s statement did not include mentions of field courses or internships.

Both statements also said students will be allowed in on-campus housing, but that indoor, in-person gatherings will not be permitted.

The university system’s other three campuses on the quarter system — UCLA, UC San Francisco and UC Santa Barbara — as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday had not announced a change to remote learning. UCLA in an update on its website said any potential updates to the January 2022 schedule would be announced no later than this week.

In his letter, Drake also asked chancellors “to communicate the critical importance of (COVID-19 vaccine) boosters to your campus community, especially at this stage of the pandemic.”

The Modesto Bee’s Emily Isaacman contributed to this news story.