Campus leaders encourage COVID-19 safety this holiday weekend

Guy Nicolette, assistant vice chancellor for University Health Services, and Eugene Whitlock, chief people and culture officer, sent the following message to the campus community Wednesday: 

We hope you have an opportunity this Thanksgiving weekend to reconnect with loved ones and relax and recharge. As a campus, we expect to see an increase in COVID-19 cases following the holiday. While we don’t plan to move classes online following the break, we are encouraging vigilance on the part of the campus community.

Please see below for some holiday tips and post-Thanksgiving recommendations. Students received a similar message last week.

Holiday tips

• If you plan to attend an in-person event, consider gathering outdoors or only with fully vaccinated friends and family.

• Remember that your risk is much higher at indoor events where people are not masked and may be unvaccinated.

If you’re traveling

• If you will have traveled during the Thanksgiving period, we strongly recommend testing 3-5 days after returning.

• See the CDC guidelines for more information.

Return to campus

• Where possible, opt against serving food and drink at indoor events during the week following Thanksgiving.

• Please remember to complete the Daily Symptom Screener each day you will be on campus.

This holiday we’re thankful to be part of a community so focused on what’s best for our students and each other. Thank you for everything you do to support the mission of UC Berkeley and for your continued vigilance with COVID-19 recommendations and protocols.