Spring protective equipment pickup for students

Students enrolled for spring 2021 are able to pick up protective equipment (PE) kits at the Iowa Memorial Union beginning today, Wednesday, Jan. 13.

Students living in the residence halls will be able to pick up their PE kits in their residence hall when they return to campus.

Pickup locations for other students include:

• Office of the Dean of Students, 135 IMU, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Beginning on Jan. 18, students also can pick up PE at:

• IMU Welcome Center, IMU Hubbard Commons, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Students will need their Iowa OneCard or student ID number to pick up their PE kit. Directions and exact building locations can be found on the UI campus maps website.

If you have questions or require alternative arrangements, please contact Pam Krogmeier in the Office of the Dean of Students at pamela-krogmeier@uiowa.edu.

Mental health resources: No-cost mental health support

As we look toward another semester, fear, stress, and anxiety about the ongoing pandemic can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. The University of Iowa supports its community during this unprecedented public health crisis by offering no-cost mental health support to its students, faculty, staff and their families.

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.

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

Iowa City extends face covering order to May 31, 2021

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague has extended the July 21, 2020, order requiring every person in the city of Iowa City to wear a face covering when in a public place.

The extension states that a face covering that covers the nose and mouth must now be worn in all public spaces until May 31. The extension comes as COVID-19 cases surge nationwide. With the Iowa City area entering influenza season and people start spending more time indoors due to colder temperatures, there is also an inherent increase in the risk of spreading the virus within our community.

The order in its entirety can be read online.

This order aligns directly with the University of Iowa’s face mask requirement. As a reminder, everyone entering a university building is expected to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Unless otherwise indicated, you must wear a face mask (cloth mask, disposable mask, or face shield with mask) when on campus unless you are alone in a private office/space or are in your residence hall room.

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. 11, 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: 9
• Total cases: 2,861

Employees

• New cases: 3
• Total cases: 380

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.