*By Caleb Hampton*

Beginning next month, UC Davis may end its biweekly COVID-19 testing requirement for nearly all students, staff and faculty. The decision to end the requirement was announced last month just days before the World Health Organization designated Omicron a COVID-19 “variant of concern.”

This week, as Omicron outbreaks spread around the world, prompting some colleges to reimpose public health precautions, UC Davis’ plan to ease restrictions has been met with growing unease. A petition started by UC Davis lecturer Julian Elias, which urges campus leadership to continue mandatory testing, had garnered nearly 500 signatures as of Friday.

“This is clearly not the right time for UCD to stop requiring COVID-19 tests,” the petition states. “Many UCD students, faculty and staff members will feel less safe.”

No changes to the plan have been announced, though campus leadership told The Enterprise it would monitor the situation over the next couple of weeks while students are away from campus.

“We have winter-break guidance in place and will continue to monitor any changes to COVID-19 rates and evaluate what needs to be done to keep the community healthy,” UC Davis spokesperson Melissa Blouin said in an email. “We will inform the campus community should our guidance change.”

According to the campus’ current guidelines, all students, staff and faculty will need to get tested at least once between Jan. 3, when winter quarter begins, and Jan. 16. After that, campus affiliates who are fully vaccinated will be encouraged to continue getting tested, but only those who are unvaccinated will be required to do so.

...