This post was updated Feb. 28 at 8:15 p.m.
UCLA is developing plans to reopen some on-campus activities, including libraries and some performing arts studios, university officials announced Wednesday.
UCLA is also planning to reopen some outdoor fitness facilities and hold outdoor study groups, according to a campuswide email from Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck and former Academic Senate Chair Michael Meranze. UCLA is also considering resuming some intramural and club sports, though Los Angeles County guidelines only permit low-contact sports, including cross country, tennis, badminton, swimming and dance.
The plans are based on guidance released by the LA County Department of Public Health on Monday, which allows higher education institutions to resume some indoor and outdoor activities because of a declining COVID-19 transmission rate.
COVID-19-related hospitalization and death rates have been on a downward trend since the start of 2021, according to the LACDPH. Since the start of the pandemic, more than 1 million people in LA County have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 20,000 have died because of complications related to COVID-19.
According to LACDPH guidelines, art studios and film production facilities can reopen for groups of up to four people, whose activities must fulfill academic requirements. Libraries can open for students, faculty and staff with a 25% maximum capacity and social distancing guidelines.
COVID-19 vaccine availability will also expand to university employees, including students working on the UCLA campus, starting March 1, according to the email. Individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 with underlying medical conditions will become eligible beginning March 15.
UCLA is planning to return to in-person instruction by fall quarter. Beck and Meranze said UCLA is still planning to continue remote learning through the end of summer sessions, despite the potential reopenings.
