Visitor clearance survey
UC ANR has been using a web-based daily “clearance to work survey” to ensure that employees who are working onsite or engaged in in-person field work, research or extension activities are free of COVID-19 symptoms. An offline or paper version of the survey is also available for volunteers or employees who cannot access the online survey. Symptom screening is a statewide recommendation for all employers and is required by UC guidance for campuses and ANR locations that have personnel working onsite. The UC Symptom Screening Task Force guidance also states that arrangements must be made to require the same or equivalent screening not only of students, academics and staff but also guests, contractors, vendors and members of the public who are permitted access to UC facilities.
To comply with this UC systemwide guidance and to increase the protection of our employees, beginning August 3, all visitors to UC ANR facilities must also complete a Visitor Clearance Survey prior to entry. Only visitors who receive a “Cleared to Enter” result will be allowed access. Visitors who are denied entry should be provided information about other ways to interact with UC ANR remotely, such as information available on websites, scheduling a phone consultation, video meetings, etc.
When visitors from a UC campus or vendors whose employer has a symptom screening process can demonstrate that they have already passed their institution's screening, those results will be acceptable to enter the UC ANR facility. Additionally, for UCCE offices, a county's symptom screening process will be acceptable to enter the UC ANR spaces.
To maintain privacy, UC ANR personnel will not record or retain the responses of any person's Visitor Clearance Work Survey, but will only keep a record of the final survey result, i.e.: “Cleared to Enter,” or “Stay Home,” using a daily visitor log or sign-in sheet to record survey clearance status.
The UC ANR Visitor Clearance Survey and additional instructions and details about the survey are posted on the UC ANR COVID-19 webpage: http://ucanr.edu/covid19 under “Standards for Resuming In-Person Activities.”
Celebration Corner
Starting in March 2020, Nutrition Policy Institute researchers rapidly adjusted existing projects and joined forces with partners to respond to the pandemic by providing guidance on adjusting school meal service and other school operations to meet the needs of families during school closures; providing guidance on food security measures among people experiencing homelessness; and supporting the strengthening of food assistance programs.
CalFresh Healthy Living, UC provided oversight, training and technical assistance to San Luis Obispo County Disaster Service Workers at essential farmers market sites to ensure that safety guidance was followed by vendors and the public. These efforts enabled farmers markets that serve low-income patrons through EBT Acceptance and Market Match programs to remain open and address food insecurity in these communities.
Glenda Humiston
Vice President