welcome back! and some reminders for Winter

[Bill Maurer]

    Dear social sciences faculty, staff, grad students, lecturers and
    researchers,

    Happy new year! I hope everyone found time for some rest and was able to
    stay away from work-related Zooms and emails over the holidays.

    Here we go again: another quarter in quarantine. Hope is on the horizon,
    now that people have begun receiving vaccines, but we also all know it's
    going to be some time yet before we are out of the woods. We're entering
    a potentially quite difficult period, with a surge in cases and new
    strains of the virus beginning to circulate.

    We will get through this. And although the pandemic is impacting
    everyone differently, it is impacting everyone: we're all in this together.

    I wanted to remind you of the protocol for reporting a case of Covid-19
    on campus or in the labs. It's easy. Go to the UCI Coronavirus site:
    https://uci.edu/coronavirus/. Call the phone number listed
    (949-824-9918). They'll take it from there.

    If you're not working on campus and are experiencing symptoms or would
    like to receive a coronavirus test, please contact your primary care
    provider or visit your county's Covid website (Orange County's Covid
    site is https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-testing).

    I also want to remind everyone again of the wellness resources we have
    at our disposal. A summary of mental health and wellness resources for
    faculty, staff and students is available at:
    https://whcs.uci.edu/summary-campus-mental-health-counseling-services

    The School will be organizing more virtual events and check-ins, so that
    we can all stay connected and continue to care for one another.

    And always feel free to reach out. If you've got a question or have a
    specific need or problem, I'll do my best to help out myself or direct
    you to someone who can. You know where to find me!

    Stay safe, and welcome to Winter!

    Bill