Mental health resources: Movement can help improve your mood

Physical movement and exercise are not only good for your physical health, but can also help improve your mood and stress level.

The university has several resources to help you get started, even though this can be challenging during the winter months:

• The Recreational Services team has worked hard over the last year to provide opportunities for the UI community to continue their health and fitness journeys while practicing social distancing. Check out theat-home resources pageto see a list of all of the recreation opportunities available.
• Download the Rec Serv app to learn everything you need to know about current programs and facilities, including hours, group fitness schedules, current visitor counts, and access to online program registration.
• Student Wellness has several online wellness resources for students, including Koru Mindfulness workshops through Zoom, online fitness consultations, study break exercises, and nutrition consultations. To learn more, see the Student Wellness COVID-19 resources page.
• University Human Resources has curated a variety of online resources to help support your health and well-being, including videos about nutrition and stretches you can do at home in any setting.

For more information about mental health resources, see mentalhealth.uiowa.edu.

For counseling and support, the Employee Assistance Program offers confidential counseling at no cost for UI employees and their families; or University Counseling Service offers confidential counseling and support for students.

Campus operations

The university continues to monitor self-reported COVID-19 testing data on campus, while also tracking state, region, and national COVID-19 infection rates. The university will continue to follow the latest guidance from the CDC in coordination with Johnson County Public Health, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Board of Regents, State of Iowa.

University of Iowa self-reported COVID-19 testing

These data reflect new cases since Jan. 4, 2021.

The University of Iowa has published an updated snapshot of self-reported positive COVID-19 tests from faculty, staff, and students.

Number of self-reported cases of COVID-19

Students

• New cases: 5
• Total cases: 2,834

Employees

• New cases: 11
• Total cases: 373

These numbers reflect only self-reported positive or presumed positive COVID-19 tests from UI faculty, staff, and students on the academic campus since Aug. 18, 2020. These data will not match data reported by UI Hospitals & Clinics or by the Iowa Department of Public Health for several reasons, including different testing time intervals and geographic scope. Students who also are employees of the university are only reported in the student number to avoid double counting. The UI has more than 30,000 students and nearly 30,000 employees. Many employees continue to work remotely but have self-reported to authorize sick leave.

Number of residence hall students in quarantine: 3*

Number of residence hall students in self-isolation: 0**

*Quarantine: Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others.

**Self-isolation: Isolation is used to separate people infected with the virus (those who are symptomatic and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected.