UCLA extends online instruction until Jan. 28 amid rising COVID-19 cases

UCLA will postpone the return to in-person instruction through Jan. 28, university administrators announced Friday. 

The campuswide email attributed the delay to regional and campus trends of positive COVID-19 rates and staffing concerns. More than 1,200 new faculty, staff and students have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of January, said Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael J. Beck and COVID-19 Response and Recovery Task Force co-chair Megan McEvoy in the email. Around 34% of students eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine booster have received their third dose, according to the email. 

The email said that the extension of remote instruction will give faculty, staff and students more time to meet the university’s testing requirements and receive the booster if eligible. Postponing in-person learning will help space out students’ arrivals on campus, the email also said. It added that models show the postponement of in-person learning could help reduce the number of students who would need to be placed in isolation or quarantine by 50%.

UCLA administrators said the decision to extend online learning through Jan. 28 is not an indicator that the winter quarter will be held entirely online, adding that the university will continue to work with public health experts. As the situation progresses, the university will communicate plans for in-person learning in the coming weeks, the email stated. 

Students who have already arrived on campus or in Westwood must follow university testing protocols, according to the email. UCLA mandates all university community members to take a COVID-19 test at least once a week through the campus testing program. The university also said it urges students on or near campus to limit travel and avoid large groups. 

The email said that students who have not returned to Westwood can delay their arrival, adding that they will be required to take a rapid antigen or PCR test no more than 72 hours before arriving on campus and remain home if they test positive. Students must take another test from a campus vending machine or distribution center upon their arrival and three to five days after their arrival, according to the email. The email recommended that faculty and staff also follow the same testing protocols.

Eligible students are required to submit proof of a vaccine booster by Jan. 18, the email said, and employees must submit proof of a vaccine booster by Jan. 31.

The university also said all faculty, staff and students must continue to follow UCLA’s health protocols, which include wearing masks indoors and completing the UCLA COVID-19 Symptom Monitoring and Vaccination Verification System Survey before arriving on campus each day, regardless of vaccination status.