Encino
COVID-19 Masking Update
COVID-19 conditions in the United States, California, and Los Angeles continue to dramatically improve, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health announced the consistent decline of important COVID-19 metrics allows for a “significant revision of required community-level infection strategies.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the California Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health have all issued updated public health guidance relaxing COVID-19 restrictions and no longer require indoor masking.
At Pepperdine, new weekly cases have consistently fallen, and our positivity rate has remained substantially lower than Los Angeles County’s rate throughout 2022. The University has thoughtfully evaluated this changing public health guidance, reviewed University COVID-19 conditions, consulted medical and public health experts, weighed feedback from the Pepperdine community, and benchmarked with other universities. Based on this analysis, and in line with updated health guidance from the CDC, the California Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, beginning Monday, March 7, 2022, masks will be optional indoors for all members of the Pepperdine University community at Southern California campuses, regardless of vaccination status. Masks are still required while on University shuttles, in healthcare settings, and through day 10 of isolation or quarantine, and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health strongly encourages wearing masks while indoors.
Pepperdine respects individual choice based on personal preference or need and seeks to honor those who are ready to remove their masks, those who cannot remove their masks, and those who are not yet prepared to do so. The University encourages all who wish to continue wearing masks to do so, and will continue to provide medical-grade masks for free.
At this time, all other University COVID-19 infection control measures remain in place, including weekly testing, daily wellness checks, case and exposure notifications through the START Form, contact tracing, isolation and quarantine, enhanced ventilation measures, and vaccination clinics. The University will continue its evaluation of COVID-19 conditions, evolving public health guidance, and its own infection control measures and policies developed in support of COVID-19 impacted members of the community. Pending further evaluation, any changes to weekly testing would be implemented no earlier than Monday, March 21. If testing requirements for the University community are lifted, optional testing will remain available.
If you have any questions, please contact the University’s COVID-19 information line at 310.506.8111 or covid19info@pepperdine.edu.
Pepperdine Reviewing Latest Los Angeles County Public Health Order
Today, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued a new health order, which takes effect on Friday, February 25, 2022. This new order contains protocols that allow for the relaxing of masking indoors in very limited settings and under certain circumstances. The University is reviewing this new order to determine if it applies to the University and if it is appropriate to implement any changes on campus. The University will communicate updates with the community during next week’s President’s Briefing but will not implement changes (if any apply) prior to Monday, March 7, 2022.
Thank you for your continued cooperation and partnership. If you have any questions, please contact the University’s COVID-19 information line at 310.506.8111 or covid19info@pepperdine.edu.
Quarantine Requirement for Travelers Entering Los Angeles County
As Los Angeles County continues to see an unprecedented wave of COVID-19 cases, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an update to the Safer at Home Health Officer Order announcing that all travelers returning to the Southern California region on or from non-essential travel must self-quarantine for 10 days upon returning to Los Angeles County. In addition, individuals arriving from other countries or states into Los Angeles are also required to complete a mandatory form acknowledging that they have read and understood L.A. County Public Health’s travel requirement and California’s travel advisory. Travelers over the age of 16 must submit this form online prior to or upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport, Van Nuys Airport, or Union Station.
Students affected by the mandatory self-quarantine requirement who are moving into or returning to the Pepperdine Malibu campus must plan to quarantine for the full 10 days in their assigned apartments. Housing and Residence Life has sent additional information to all students who currently are or will be residing on campus.
Employees affected by the mandatory self-quarantine requirement should plan to work remotely or identify alternate work with their supervisors during the period of self-quarantine. Employees should contact their supervisor as soon as they know that their regularly scheduled work will be affected by the need to self-quarantine and should not come to campus before self-quarantining after travel.
As always, the University encourages all students, faculty, and staff to stay informed and follow the latest guidance of local authorities. The latest information is available on the University’s COVID-19 website and Emergency Information Page. If you have questions, please contact Pepperdine’s COVID-19 Information Line at 310.506.8111 or via email at covid19info@pepperdine.edu.
Pepperdine Monitoring Power Conditions in the Region
As the Los Angeles area continues to be under a Red Flag Warning, Southern California Edison (SCE) has initiated a number of Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) in the region, preemptively de-energizing electrical circuits in an attempt to prevent power lines from starting a potential wildfire. University officials have been monitoring the situation closely and remain in regular contact with SCE representatives. Pepperdine University campuses are not currently impacted by any active or expected PSPS, but are not exempt from this possibility.
As these conditions continue, employees working remotely who may be impacted by a PSPS should contact their supervisor to modify work if needed, and contact Human Resources to ensure hours are recorded appropriately. Because of COVID-19 guidelines, only essential employees may go to a Pepperdine campus to complete essential work.
You may want to consider, especially if you are a student living on campus, keeping a flashlight on hand, fully charging all personal electronic devices in preparation for outages, and keeping refrigerators in the closed position throughout the duration of an outage to avoid spoilage. If University campuses are impacted, updates will be posted on Pepperdine’s Emergency Information Page. Contact the University’s Emergency Services through the information line at 310.506.8111 with any questions.
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