UCLA Employee Infected

To the Campus Community:

We have learned that a member of our UCLA campus community has tested positive for COVID-19. The individual is a UCLA staff member who works off campus, has self-isolated at their off-campus residence and is receiving care. I have spoken to our fellow Bruin to express my hope for a quick recovery.

We are determining whether there are members of the UCLA community who need to be advised about their contacts with our staff member, and if so, we will activate our notification process accordingly. Please know that if there is a need for anyone to be isolated or tested, they will be contacted.

We understand this news may heighten anxiety and create concern among members of our community. Students should contact the Ashe Center Infection Control Line at 310-206-6217, and faculty and staff should call their health care providers, if they develop flu-like symptoms. Please always call ahead before arriving. Additionally, mental health is as important as physical health. Students can always seek services at UCLA’s Counseling and Psychological Services and staff and faculty can contact the Staff and Faculty Counseling Center.

It bears repeating that as testing for COVID-19 becomes more broadly available, we should prepare ourselves to expect the numbers of self-quarantine cases like mine and confirmed cases like that of our staff member to increase across the country and at UCLA. We have been expecting this reality, and we have prepared and implemented safety protocols accordingly.

We remain committed to transparency and open communication on this important issue. When there are future confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our campus community, we will keep you informed through UCLA’s COVID-19 website, Bruins Safe Online and UCLA’s Twitter feed.

Above all, please know that every decision we make is guided by our top priority of protecting the health and safety of our Bruin and global communities, in what continues to be a rapidly evolving environment. Our decisions on matters such as remote learning are driven by what science tells us: The reduction of population density helps slow the spread of the virus.

You are all part of a community that cares about you. I am grateful to each of you for supporting UCLA’s broader efforts to help the world fight the spread of COVID-19. I could not be prouder to be a Bruin.

Sincerely,

Gene D. Block

Chancellor