This weekly newsletter contains important information about UW-Eau Claire’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and offers Blugolds details on how to access key resources and assist others on our campuses and in our communities.
Virtual commencement ceremony celebrates 2020 graduates
To celebrate all graduates from this past spring and those graduating this month, UW-Eau Claire will conduct a virtual commencement on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 10 a.m. While the COVID-19 virus made the traditional commencement ceremony at Zorn Arena impossible this year, Blugolds will be able to come together through the university’s livestream channel to hear congratulations from Chancellor James Schmidt, Provost Patricia Kleine, faculty, staff and their fellow students. You can read more about this unique ceremony here, and you can find all you need to know about this year’s commencement on a special webpage.
Antigen testing required for all those on campus this month
Students, faculty and staff who returned to campus or will be visiting campus this month are required to take antigen tests to help stop the spread of the virus. For Blugolds on the Eau Claire campus, antigen tests are required twice per week. On the Rice Lake campus, one antigen test per week is required. Between tests, Blugolds must remain separate, wear masks, maintain physical distancing and monitor for symptoms. All students, faculty and staff are required to log their antigen test results along with their daily symptoms in the Blugold Protocol app. This includes days when you are not expecting to come to campus in Eau Claire, Marshfield or Barron County. You can find more information on the Blugold Protocol app on the university webpage. Students who are enrolled in all remote instruction classes and will not be on campus this month, for Winterim 2021 or the spring 2021 semester, are not required to use the Blugold Protocol app.
Davies Center COVID-19 testing continues
Students, faculty, staff and their dependents should continue to be tested using the free antigen tests available to all who do not have COVID-19 symptoms. Testing is available and encouraged for all UW-Eau Claire students who live off campus and for employees and their dependents aged 5 and older. The site in the Dakota Ballroom of Davies Center is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Access to Davies Center will be through the southwest service doors next to the loading dock to isolate the testing queue from the rest of the building. The Davies Center doors nearest The Cabin will remain “exit only” doors as they have been since the start of the semester. Registration is available online here.
COVID-19 resources online
If you want up-to-date information on COVID-19 and UW-Eau Claire’s response to the pandemic, visit the university’s COVID-19 Updates webpage, where you can find past editions of this newsletter, video messages from Chancellor Schmidt and important emails that have been shared with campus.
Vital Statistics
(as of noon Thursday, Dec. 10)
Confirmed Cases of COVID-19
Worldwide: 70,530,178
United States: 15,957,773
Wisconsin: 426,099
Eau Claire County: 8,326
Barron County: 3,931
Wood County: 4,851
UW-Eau Claire COVID-19 Dashboard, updated daily
Look for the next Blugold Flight Plan newsletter on Dec. 17.
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