Guidelines for communicating about COVID-19 cases on campus

June 29, 2020

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research & Creative Activities

To the Campus Community:

As research activities and other operations ramp up across campus and in the field, questions and concerns have arisen about the guidelines for communicating about positive COVID-19 cases among students, staff, faculty and others who are using our campus facilities. Knowing that processes and policies will continue to evolve as the situation changes, we want to share the following information with you about some of the key procedures we have in place now:

1. We are committed to the health of everyone on campus, and we have put rigorous risk mitigation practices into place, including reduced personnel density, extensive sanitization protocols, required daily symptom monitoring and mandated use of face coverings
2. Any UCLA community member who develops symptoms or receives a positive test result for COVID-19 is obligated to self-isolate and to contact the UCLA Infectious Disease Hotline at 310-267-3300 (for faculty, staff and volunteers) or the Ashe Center COVID-19 Hotline at 310-206-6217 (for students).
3. The UCLA COVID-19 Resources website provides daily updates of confirmed COVID-19 cases among the UCLA campus community, including information about when the individual was last on campus.
4. No one should be stigmatized or subject to discrimination based on their health status. We are committed to protecting the privacy of any person who tests positive or is suspected of having COVID-19.
5. A wealth of resources covering UCLA-specific COVID-19 protocols may be found on Bruins Safe Online. These policies and other campus guidelines are in accordance with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health orders and include: 
   1. Standard Operating Procedure for Responding to COVID-19 Cases on the UCLA Campus (PDF)
   2. UCLA Safe and Physical Distancing Protocol (PDF)
   3. Information about Required Training on COVID-19
   4. UCLA Requirements for COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring: Staff and Faculty Performing Non-Healthcare Work On Campus (PDF)
   5. UCLA Requirements for Symptom Monitoring for Students (PDF)
6. The campus has instituted standard operating procedures (PDF) for principal investigators (PIs) and supervisors to follow should they learn that someone in their research space or other on-site workspace has tested positive for COVID-19. It is imperative that all PIs, supervisors and research group members familiarize themselves with these procedures and follow only the appropriate notification protocols to ensure that people’s health information remains confidential.
7. PIs who have been approved to ramp up their research activities must be sure that their approved research operational plans include all of their research personnel returning to work on campus and in the field and the facilities that will be used for research. This information is critical in the event that contact tracing for COVID-19 is necessary. Also, please note that PIs and department chairs may be consulted for contact tracing, but they should not undertake contact tracing themselves.
8. If a UCLA student, staff or faculty member is confirmed to have COVID-19, medical professionals at UCLA or the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will investigate to determine who is considered a “close contact” to that person, contact them and ask them to self-isolate and schedule a test, if appropriate. Relevant deans, vice provosts, vice chancellors, directors and department chairs will be notified of any positive case within their areas of responsibility.
9. In the event of an outbreak on campus or other UCLA property — as opposed to isolated, unrelated cases — UCLA may issue a broader communication in accordance with guidance from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
10. Environment, Health & Safety will determine whether any UCLA spaces must be closed in the event of a potential contamination. If this happens, Facilities Management will fully sanitize affected spaces before anyone is allowed to return to the space and will notify those who use the space once the process is complete.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding. If you have any questions, please email c19@research.ucla.edu.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Beck
Administrative Vice Chancellor

Roger Wakimoto
Vice Chancellor for Research and Creative Activities

Campus operations Faculty Graduate students Health and safety Research operations Staff Undergraduate students