A pandemic year in 20 photos

Two masked researchers discuss their work on opposite sides of a barrier made of a garment rack and a sheet of polycarbonate.

In August, two graduate students discussed their work on opposite sides of one of several barriers constructed from stainless steel garment racks and sheets of polycarbonate. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A close-up photo of University Health Services infection control manager Lisa Polley readying a syringe for the vaccine clinic in Pauley Ballroom at the MLK Jr. Student Union. She's wearing a Cal face mask and purple protective gloves.

Lisa Polley, infection control manager for University Health Services, readied a vaccine syringe last month. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Two students walk toward Sather Gate on a virtually empty campus during the coronavirus pandemic.

The few students who returned to Berkeley in August found a desolate campus. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Rows of cardboard cutouts of Cal Bears fans faces, or those of their pets or babies, fill parts of Haas Pavilion, providing a presence for student-athletes who play there.

Berkeley's athletic venues were empty most of the year. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Cal Dining staff members in white aprons and face masks serve takeout lunches to students moving into the residence hall.

With dining facilities closed for eating, Cal Dining staff members prepared takeout boxes so students could eat in their rooms. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

doudna sits in a journalism studio with no people in it. There is a face on teh screen in the foreground.

In October, professor Jennifer Doudna took questions from the media at a socially distanced press conference after winning the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Supria Sharma, a first year student, sticks a swab up her nose doing a self-administered COVID-19 test at a University Health Services tent before school starts.

Students living in residence halls were required to be regularly tested for COVID-19. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

In Minor Hall, an employee demonstrates the new contactless facial recognition temperature scanner that is part of patient check-in. The screen is the size of a large cell phone and on a stand.

Many buildings, like Minor Hall, pictured here, could only be accessed after a temperature screening. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Residents of Hillegass Parker House, a student co-op in Berkelely, sit at their dining room table and assemble face masks. A Christmas tree is in the background.

In December, a group of students constructed masks as part of a mutual aid effort begun at Berkeley. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Connor Tsuchida, a graduate student in Doudna's lab

Soon after the pandemic hit, the lab at the Innovative Genomics Institute began conducting tests for COVID-19. (UC Berkeley photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

An aerial view of UC Berkeley campus, built using Minecraft

When the annual commencement ceremony in May was canceled, a simulated event was held in Blockeley University, a fantastical recreation of Berkeley built by a group of students and alumni using Minecraft. (Image by Blockeley University)

A person hands a completed COVID-19 swab test through a car window to a University Health Services employee at the Underhill Parking Garage.

Early in 2021, students, staff and faculty could get a drive-through COVID-19 test at Underhill Parking Gararage. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Cal women's volleyball players practice in Haas Pavilion wearing face masks during the pandemic.

After a brief hiatus, all of Cal’s 30 intercollegiate athletic programs competed under COVID-19 protocols. (Photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

Two men in yellow safety vests stand outside on either side of an open sewer drain. Between them sits a wastewater autosampler, a large grey plastic cylinder about the size of a trashcan.

In October, UC Berkeley researchers launched a pop-up lab to monitor Bay Area sewage for COVID-19. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

The team of three men who run the Sheet Metal and Wood Shop on campus are all essential workers who have been here daily during the pandemic. They stand, wearing masks, in a row, holding a measuring tape to show 6 feet between them.

Many essential workers continued to work on campus, being sure to stay socially distant. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Three students who have just met sit in mask and 6 feet apart on the steps of Sproul Hall.

Despite the pandemic, many students still found community and friendships. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

two medical workers in scrubs and masks stand next to a white care offering tests

In April, UC Berkeley begin offering drive-thru COVID-19 tests. (UC Berkeley photo by Brittany Hosea-Small)

A student in a mask wheels his belongings onto campus near Sather Gate, with smoke from the Northern California wildfires visible in the air.

This was how campus looked last August at the start of fall semester 2020. Masks were protecting Berkeleyans from both COVID-19 and wildfire smoke, and only about 2,000 students were moving onto campus to live in the residence halls. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

In his white lab coat and face mask, engineer Esayas Kelkile works on the installation of a new pump in a piece of equipment.

Much of UC Berkeley's research work continued under COVID-19 guidelines. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)

Chancellor Christ waves to the camera wearing a face mask during COVID-19 with the Campanile in the background.

Everyone who was on campus was required to wear a mask. (UC Berkeley photo by Keegan Houser)