COVID-19 Latest News

What to expect when buildings reopen

UC Riverside is beginning to open up its core campus again, returning to daytime weekday access for campus buildings. Starting Aug. 16, Facilities Services will begin unlocking and locking buildings at their normal operating hours as the campus prepares for the return of more in-person work and instruction this fall. Campus buildings had been...

By Imran Ghori |

What’s open on campus now

UC Riverside is planning for a return to in-person instruction and operations this fall. Find out below what services are available and what to expect as the campus gradually reopens. Dining All dining venues are closed for the summer. A g radual reopening of campus food operations is planned for late August , starting with venues in the HUB and...

By University Communications |

Campus vaccination rates continue to rise

About 46% of UC Riverside employees and 38% of students have submitted proof of COVID-19 vaccinations as of early July. The campus is continuing to encourage students and employees to get vaccinated and submit proof with high vaccination rates considered essential to reducing restrictions on campus and ensuring the health and safety of the campus...

By Imran Ghori |

Preparing for parking on campus this fall

UC Riverside students, faculty, and staff members will see some changes in campus parking this fall. A new parking structure and a switch from hang-tag parking permits to digital license plate recognition are among the biggest differences. Here’s what to expect related to parking and other transportation issues this fall. Permit options...

By Imran Ghori |

How California’s June 15 reopening will affect UCR

June 23 update: Under the latest state guidelines, most vaccinated employees and students may work indoors without face coverings, physical distancing is no longer required, and all worksites can operate at 100% capacity. Learn more in this announcement . The California economy will reopen June 15 with the state lifting many restrictions on...

By Imran Ghori |

How UCR created a successful COVID-19 testing program

When UC Riverside began discussing the creation of a COVID-19 testing program a year ago, the campus had no lab, no existing system, and no certainty about when students and employees could return safely. Several months after the launch of the program, the campus is planning a fall return and is celebrating a continued drop in positive coronavirus...

By Imran Ghori |

FAQ on UC's proposed COVID-19 vaccination policy

The University of California last week shared the details of a proposed policy on COVID-19 vaccination as part of its engagement with its community as it joins the California State University in supporting immunizations as part of an expected return of students, faculty, academic appointees and staff to in-person instruction across the state this...

By University Communications |

Return to campus working group briefings begin this week

Each of the Return to Campus working groups will deliver a briefing for the campus community about their planning efforts for the fall. The briefings, which will consist of comments by select working group members followed by answers to pre-submitted questions, will be available for viewing on the UC Riverside YouTube channel. The campus community...

By University Communications |

CNAS lecture series returns with focus on COVID-19 response

An upcoming lecture series will spotlight the role researchers at the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, or CNAS, are playing in response to COVID-19, from testing to vaccine development and more. The college’s annual science lecture series is titled "COVID Conversations: How the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences at UC Riverside...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR creates new COVID cleaning crew

UC Riverside has created a new team of Facilities Services employees specializing in cleaning campus areas that have potentially been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19. The team, made up of 15 custodial and housekeeping employees who volunteered for the task, attended training sessions starting in January, completing the last one in early...

By Imran Ghori |

Looking back at a year of the pandemic

A year has passed since the pandemic changed life at UC Riverside. Here is a look at what’s happened on campus. Photos by Stan Lim, UCR photography manager.

By University Communications |

Keeping the campus safe and clean

New equipment, changing schedules, and enhanced cleaning protocols — these are some of the ways the daily routines of UC Riverside Facilities Services staff members have been altered over the past year. The department, which includes custodial, landscaping, and maintenance services, has had many of its employees continuing to work on campus from...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus is well prepared to store COVID-19 vaccines

The University of California, Riverside, expects to receive a shipment of 400 Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses on Wednesday, Jan. 20. An initial shipment of 100 Moderna vaccines was delivered to Student Health Services earlier this month in order to begin inoculating frontline health care staff. The Moderna vaccine needs to be stored between -13...

By Iqbal Pittalwala |

UCR vaccinates frontline health care workers for COVID-19

UC Riverside has vaccinated 100 frontline health care workers at Student Health Services for the virus that causes COVID-19 in the first on-campus vaccine distribution. Student Health Services applied through Riverside County six weeks earlier to inoculate its workers and was notified Jan. 7 that it would receive a shipment of 100 doses of the...

By Imran Ghori |

COVID-19 drive-thru testing site to open on campus

UC Riverside employees and students will be able to get tested for the coronavirus at no cost to them at a drive-thru site on a campus lot starting Thursday, Dec. 17. The testing program is a result of a partnership between UCR and the city of Riverside, which has opened two other drive-thru locations, a downtown kiosk, and a mobile testing van...

By Imran Ghori |

COVID-19 exposure app available to UCR students and employees

A pilot smartphone-based program that provides notification of COVID-19 exposure is now available to UC Riverside students and employees. UCR began participating in the Exposure Notification System app, which is available as a feature on iPhones and an app on Android devices, Monday, Nov. 16. The system allows users to be notified if they have...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus COVID-19 lab expands capacity

UC Riverside’s COVID-19 laboratory has added more space and staff as testing on campus continues to ramp up. About two months after opening, the diagnostic lab has increased its capacity as part of the campus’s regular coronavirus testing of students in residence halls. “We’re always trying to streamline and make the process faster,” said Kathy...

By Imran Ghori |

The Barn reopens for service

The Barn reopened to customers Monday, Nov. 2, following a temporary closure, a cautionary measure taken after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus last month. During the two-week shutdown, the employee and other staff members who had been in contact with the individual remained in quarantine. Staff members immediately conducted an...

By Imran Ghori |

Highlanders move into campus housing under new safety rules

It was a different kind of moving day experience for UC Riverside students beginning the fall quarter. Instead of crowds of students and their families packed into parking lots amid a buzz of activity, a small number of students and their families unloaded their belongings in staggered 30-minute intervals over four days from Sept. 25-28. Their...

By Imran Ghori |

Emergency fund created to help employees during pandemic

UC Riverside is launching a program to aid employees hardest hit by the coronavirus with grants of up to $1,000 to help cover unexpected expenses. Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox announced details of the UCR COVID-19 Employee Emergency Fund in an email to campus employees on Thursday, Sept. 24. “Understanding that COVID-19 is inflicting great medical and...

By Imran Ghori |