To the UC Davis Community:

Acting out of an abundance of caution amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we have decided to take additional steps in our efforts to protect our students, faculty and staff, and the community at large, as we all do our part to help contain the spread of the virus.

We take these actions in consultation with the UC Office of the President, the Academic Senate and campus administrators, as well as Yolo County Public Health (which, as of today, has reported one confirmed case of COVID-19 in the county, none on the Davis campus). As this situation continues to evolve rapidly, we will respond with further directives. For now, this letter addresses the following topics:

• Instruction and final exams — Expanding on our message of March 7 to include a directive on canceling in-person final exams next week and choosing an alternative option.
• Paid leave and remote work — For staff and faculty who become ill or who need to stay home to care for family members who become ill, or whose children’s schools are closed.
• Travel — Adding a caution against nonessential travel, domestic or international (beyond the international prohibitions already in place).
• Gatherings — Mandating the cancellation or postponement of events with planned attendance of more than 150 people, from Thursday, March 12, through March 31. We are evaluating this timing on an ongoing basis, as we continue to consult with public health officials. This mandate does not apply to instruction through the end of this week. See other exemptions below.

Our overarching goals: For the sake of everyone’s health, we want to minimize face-to-face contact, in instruction and office hours, in workspaces and large gatherings. And we want to emphasize to students, staff and faculty: If you are sick, stay home.