UCI News

UCI and COVID, by the numbers

Two-year figures provide insights into massive campus effort during pandemic

March 21, 2022
UCI and COVID, by the numbers
UCI has administered almost 275,000 COVID-19 tests to its students and employees. Here, a student is guided through a self-test in the Bren Events Center in fall 2020. Steve Zylius / UCI

It’s been two years since California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a statewide shutdown on March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UCI employees were sent home. Students were evacuated and finished winter-quarter finals online. Research that could be conducted off-site was relocated. Campus officials geared up for a spring quarter of remote learning. All spring sports for UCI Athletics teams were called off. Only UCI Medical Center remained a beehive of activity as healthcare providers braced for the unknown.

The task of mobilizing UCI – a multibillion-dollar organization equivalent to a midsize city of 50,000 – was massive, requiring quick and decisive leadership and teamwork that continue to this day. Here’s a snapshot, by the numbers, of what the Anteater community has accomplished over the past two years.

Number of days between the beginning of remote learning in 2020 and the return to in-person classes in the fall quarter of 2021:

Remote learning began on March 30, 2020, the start of the spring quarter. In-person classes resumed on Sept. 23, 2021, the start of the fall quarter. That’s a hiatus of 542 days.

Number of remote courses taught during the 2020-21 academic year:

Fall quarter: 4,713

Winter quarter: 4,310

Spring quarter: 4,103

Summer Session: 808

 

 

Number of COVID-19 tests administered to UCI students and employees through February 2022:

  Asymptomatic Symptomatic Overall
Student 239,746 5,298 245,044
Employee 28,529 616 29,145
Other 143 71 214
Total 268,418 5,985 274,403

 

Number of vaccinations given at the Student Health Center and six pop-up clinics:

Student Health Center: 890
Vendor-managed “booster” clinics: 300

Number of vaccinations given at the Bren Events Center in 2021:

74,349

 

 

 

Percentage of UCI students and employees fully vaccinated:

Students: 97 percent

Staff and faculty: 95 percent

 

 

 

 

 

Number of free test kits provided to students and employees:

56,567 rapid antigen tests

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of face coverings distributed to UCI staff, faculty and students:

Surgical masks: 74,315

N95s: 32,619

KN95s: 180,800

 

 

 

Number of campus housing beds currently reserved for COVID-positive students:

582 

Number of COVID-19 information signs displayed across campus:

Decals/cling/engraved: 28,300
Floor: 11,500
Ground-mounted: 450
Bridge banners: 6
Pedestrian light pole banners: 28
Restroom usage signs: 7,100

 

 

Number of hands-free faucets and paper towel dispensers installed in restrooms and break rooms:

Faucets: Just over 800

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paper towel dispensers: Just over 1,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of hand sanitizer dispenser installations:

1,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

Number of UCI contact tracers:

At its peak, UCI’s Contact Tracing and Vaccine Navigation Services had 25 contact tracers on staff and trained several hundred graduate students and community volunteers in contact tracing. The office also supported the campus with vaccination efforts and outreach, calling 33,961 students.