As a University of the Pacific community including students, families, and faculty, there is the difficult decision of returning to campus due the significant increase in Covid-19 cases amid the rise of the Omicron variant. The safety of students, faculty, and their families is vital and is the reason for this petition. There is little consideration for the immunocompromised, the disabled, unvaccinated people, children, the families of the students who commute, or the general health of the public expressed in this new update put out by UOP. Ultimately, we hope that the university puts the safety of it's students and faculty first before making further decisions.

Evidently: 

- Breakthrough COVID infections due to the Omicron variant are becoming more common, proving that vaccines should not be the only protection, besides masks, against the novel COVID variant.

- Covid-19 hospitalizations have almost doubled in the San Joaquin County this past month as the omicron variant is rapidly spreading throughout the entire state and the country. 

- There is an increase in Covid-19 cases on campus, in which within the last month there has been an email sent almost every day of the week announcing new covid-19 cases on campus. 

We demand that UOP administration offer full online accessibility and/or "hybrid" options for instruction including lectures, labs, and office hours. Students, teaching staff, and non-teaching staff should be given this option until greater safety measures are implemented, so that those who are particularly vulnerable during this pandemic do not suffer from the consequences of reopening this spring semester.