Updated January 14, 2022

Interim Guidance: Effective Dec. 17, 2021

What’s new: Two-step COVID-19 testing required following international travel.

Regardless of vaccination status, all individuals returning to onsite work within 10 days following international travel are required to take and submit an approved COVID-19 test within 24 hours of entering a UCSF facility (before or during first day onsite).  A second COVID-19 test is required 3 to 5 days following the first UCSF test.    

As circumstances around the COVID-19 pandemic continue to evolve, UCSF will update its travel guidance in accordance with the latest public health orders. This guidance is effective until further notice.

See detailed guidance:

• Requirements and Reimbursement Upon Return From Travel
• Traveler Categories
• Travel Outside California 
• Monitoring Required for International Travel
• UCSF-Sponsored Essential Travel
• Approval for Essential Travel
• If You Need Travel Assistance

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Requirements and Reimbursement After Travel

Employees returning or coming to UCSF with questions about COVID-19 and high-risk travel or high-risk exposure (close contact with someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, regardless of travel) should complete the Daily Health Screener and/or call the COVID Response Team at (415) 514-7328 for further evaluation. Students arriving at or returning to UCSF after travel should complete the Daily Health Screener and send questions to the COVID Nurse at Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) via MyHealthRecord. Please contact the COVID Response Team immediately if your COVID-19 test comes back positive.

Individuals may be encouraged or required to quarantine after travel. To quarantine after travel, individuals should remain in their hotel or residence for up to 10 days, mask and stay 6 feet away from people with whom they did not travel, wash hands frequently, and only go out for essential activities like obtaining food, medical care or individual outdoor exercise. Exceptions that allow travel to and from onsite work at UCSF during the travel quarantine period are described below.

Reimbursement after UCSF-sponsored travel requires documentation

• Traveling within California:
  • No Vaccine Attestation or COVID Pandemic Travel Approval Request forms are needed
• Traveling to/from another state:
  • Vaccinated travelers must submit a Vaccine Attestation that they are fully vaccinated
  • Unvaccinated travelers must submit the COVID Pandemic Travel Approval Request form with appropriate approval signature obtained before travel
• Traveling Internationally
  • All travelers must submit the COVID Pandemic Travel Approval Request form with appropriate approval signature obtained before travel

U.S. Travel Outside California

UCSF strongly recommends against personal international travel as part of a broader effort to limit the transmission of COVID-19 from place to place.

If you do undertake travel outside California, be aware that some state and local governments, as well as airlines and many foreign countries, require you to test, produce documents related to vaccination status, and/or self-quarantine for 10-14 days upon arrival. Review travel recommendations by country from the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Department of State prior to departure whether the travel is personal or UCSF-sponsored. Also consider the follow the guidance while traveling from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Traveler Categories

All employees and students who live or work in California should use the following table to determine when to enter campus after travel, while adhering to travel quarantine guidelines if required when off-site. In addition, any students or employees entering campus must attest via the daily employee screening tool that they are asymptomatic and are completing any required COVID-19 tests after travel. If you are unsure whether you are required to be on site, please consult your supervisor.

If you have recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months, follow the table requirements according to your COVID-19 vaccination status.

Traveler Category 1: Individuals who have been fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine.

Traveler Category 2: Individuals who have not completed the dose requirements of a vaccine, and individuals who have not received a WHO-approved vaccine.

UCSF Travel Requirements Table

Vaccination Status		Not Fully Vaccinated*		Fully Vaccinated*
Traveler Category		2		1
Travel		Travel to/from Another State	International Travel	Travel to/from Another State	International Travel
Before Travel	Travel Approval required	Central approval required via Pandemic Form		Attestation required for reimbursement	Central approval required via Pandemic Form
	COVID-19 test 1-3 days before travel	Yes		No
	Check destination requirements**	Yes		Yes
During Travel	For International Travelers, Pre-travel test must be performed and resulted no more than one day before departure flight to the U.S., CDC requires negative testing or proof of recovery from COVID-19 infection in last 90 days	No	Yes	No	Yes
After Travel	COVID-19 Testing*** Please submit your results to [email protected]. In the subject line type: "Vaccinated Traveler Test Results"	No post travel testing is required. Continue with NPI testing schedule	Required: First test required within 24 hours of entering a UCSF facility (before or during first day onsite) Second test required 3-5 days after first UCSF test	No post travel testing is required. Continue with NPI testing schedule	Required: First test required within 24 hours of entering a UCSF facility (before or during first day onsite) Second test required 3-5 days after first UCSF test
	COVID-19 Quarantine	Following NPI testing requirement to be onsite	Return to work sooner than 10 days after return from travel requires COVID-19 Response Team interview and clearance  Employee will either do a 7-day home quarantine with testing or 10-day quarantine without testing	Immediate return to work if asymptomatic with no known exposure No home quarantine unless symptomatic and COVID-19 test is positive
	Symptoms Monitoring	Monitor for 14 days See monitoring information below
	Clearance from COVID-19 Response Team to return to campus	No COVID-19 clearance email required when return to work if asymptomatic with no known exposure	Required: COVID-19 clearance email if returning to work less than 10 days after travel	No COVID-19 clearance email required when return to work if asymptomatic with no known exposure	Required: COVID-19 clearance email if returning to work less than 10 days after travel
	Contact if need Clearance Email from COVID-19 Response Team	UCSF SF and Fresno Employees: Call (415) 514-7328 UCSF Students - Submit request through Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) Portal via MyHealthRecord BCH Oakland Employees – Call (510) 428-3620; option 4

 

 

* People fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccine must be more than 2 weeks after receipt of the second dose of 2-dose vaccine (like Pfizer or Moderna) or more than 2 weeks after receipt of single-dose vaccine (like Johnson and Johnson’s Janssen).  Individuals who have not completed the dose requirements of a vaccine, and individuals who have not received a WHO-approved vaccine are not fully vaccinated.

View this page for WHO-approved vaccines: click on Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Within WHO EUL/PQ Evaluation Process, and check for Finalized vaccines in the Status of Assessment column.

UCSF follows the recommendation of the CDC that everyone ages 16 and older who are fully vaccinated get a booster shot since research shows improved protection against infection with COVID and against severe symptoms, including hospitalization.

Equivalence to vaccination: proof of COVID-19 infection in the last 90 days.

 ** US Destination requirements and International Destination requirements. Also check with your airline regarding boarding requirements.

*** COVID-19 test: UCSF accepts only PCR/LAMP/NAAT, not the rapid antigen test.

# Individuals with COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days are exempt from testing (but continue with quarantine according to vaccination status).   Documentation of positive COVID test should be submitted to  [email protected]

 

Required Monitoring and COVID-19 Clearance

1.  Employees and students following any travel outside California:

• Monitor and record any COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days, beginning on the first day after arrival. This includes taking your temperature twice daily (if you have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case), and the following: using the COVID Symptoms form.
• Complete the Daily Screener to obtain your daily campus pass.
• If you fail the Daily Screener or if symptoms appear:
  • UCSF San Francisco and Fresno Employees should complete Daily Screener to message the COVID Response Team or else call the COVID Hotline (415) 514-7328.  
  • Students must immediately contact Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) by sending a secure message to the SHCS COVID Nurse.
  • BCH Oakland Employees should call (510) 428-3620; option 4.
• Unvaccinated employees and students must contact the COVID Response Team before returning to onsite work within 10 days of travel. See number 2 below for instructions.

  2.  Employees and Students following international travel:

• Start Coronavirus symptom self-monitoring by checking daily for COVID Symptoms.  
• Unvaccinated UCSF SF and Fresno Employees after international travel must contact the COVID Response Team. This can be done by completing (and failing) the Daily Screener, or calling  (415) 514-7328 for a post-travel interview.
• Both vaccinated and unvaccinated students after international travel must send a secure message to SHCS nursing to initiate a post-travel interview via MyHealthRecord. Students must provide a copy of the SHCS clearance letter to their educational program.
• Unvaccinated BCH Oakland Employees after international travel must contact BCH Oakland. This can be done by completing (and failing) the Daily Screener or calling BCH Oakland at 510-428-3620; option 4 for a post-travel interview.

3.   Follow testing and quarantine requirements according to the table above.

Frequent changes to air travel or government restrictions like mandatory quarantines or border closures are beyond UCSF’s control and may affect your ability to return or travel.

UCSF is restricting all non-essential university-sponsored international travel to any country for all UCSF individuals. UCSF is restricting all non-essential university-sponsored travel to another state for not-fully vaccinated UCSF individuals.

• We realize this may affect some researchers who are under contractual obligation to complete projects within a given timeframe. 
• Requests for approval of restricted university-sponsored travel must follow the approval process outlined below.
• If you are a health care worker, not fully vaccinated, who believes a 7-day quarantine after travel would create an unrealistic staffing burden or, call the COVID Response Team at (415) 514-7328 to discuss plans before you travel and after you return.
• If you are a new hire traveling from outside of California to begin your appointment at UCSF, and are unclear about the arrival instructions you have received, please contact the COVID Response Team at (415) 514-7328. 

Requirements for Incoming and Outgoing Trainee Rotations Involving Travel to/from Another State

• Trainee programs must ensure that all participants are fully vaccinated before allowing incoming or outgoing rotations involving travel to/from another state. 
• Trainees not fully vaccinated must have Pandemic Travel Approval Request form submitted by the UCSF program that requests the trainee's incoming or outgoing travel. 
• Trainee programs must track whether incoming and outgoing students have checked and will comply with any state or local restrictions, as well as CDC guidelines during domestic (travel to/from another state) travel. 

Approval for Essential Travel

In terms of university-sponsored travel, anyone who plans to travel internationally, or anyone not fully vaccinated who plans to travel to/from another state, must obtain prior approval according to the information in this section.

• Deans of the Schools and the Graduate Division are responsible for ensuring that students residents, and fellows are aware of this requirement.
• Department Chairs and Institute/Organized Research Unit directors are responsible for ensuring that their faculties, staff, and postdoctoral scholars are aware of and adhere to this requirement.
• University leadership may consult with the UCSF Recovery Operations Center (ROC) regarding specific circumstances.

Defining Essential Travel for Faculty and Staff

Defined as travel that is required — and cannot be postponed — in order to preserve the:

• Safety of a patient or research subject or
• Results of a research activity.

Essential faculty and staff travel does not include travel to attend educational conferences. Many other activities would also be considered non-essential travel.

• Faculty and staff approvers: Approval for university-sponsored travel outside California by faculty, research-project staff (including postdoctoral scholars), and independent contractors may only be provided by the appropriate Dean of the School of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, or Graduate Division, or the Interim Executive Director of the Institute of Global Health Sciences. Research-project staff, including postdoctoral scholars, and independent contractors must have essential approval requests submitted by the UCSF principal investigator or chief administrator of the project.
• Administrative staff approvers: Approval for university-sponsored travel outside California by administrative staff may only be provided by leadership based on the departments where they are assigned: Chancellor (for staff in the University Development and Alumni Relations, Offices of Communications, Community & Government Relations, Diversity and Outreach, Legal Affairs, Science Policy & Strategy, and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer); Executive Vice Chancellor & Provost; UCSF Health CEO; or Senior Vice Chancellor Finance & Administration.

Defining Essential Travel for Students, Residents, and Fellows

Defined as travel that is required – and cannot be postponed – in order to:

• Meet a graduation or completion requirement.
• Student, resident, and fellows’ approvers: Approval for university-sponsored travel outside California by students, residents, and fellows may only be provided by the Dean of their respective school or the Graduate Division.

Obtaining Approval for Essential Travel

Approval must be requested before travel as described in the chart above. If unusual circumstances make pre-trip approval impossible, the traveler should submit the same Pandemic Travel Approval Request Form linked below, since reimbursement for university-sponsored travel requires this form. Note: a post-travel request may not be approved.

1. The Requester should complete the Pandemic Travel Approval Request Form. Make sure you include your vaccination status in the box asking about how you will lower COVID risk during travel and at the site.  ​If you have not heard about your approval within 10 days after your request, please notify Travis Pentz, and include these details: dates of trip, location of trip, your designation (faculty, staff, student, resident, fellow, or postdoc), and to whom the Travel Request was submitted. Click here to see an example of the questions asked on the Pandemic Travel Approval Request Form, but use the link above to DocuSign form when submitting your responses.
2. After the Requester clicks Finish, the form will automatically be routed through DocuSign to the appropriate Approver based on how the requestor selected their UCSF affiliation as faculty, staff, fellow, resident or student, and jurisdiction within UCSF. Broader approval may be granted for multiple travel events for an individual traveler in one identified country at the discretion of the Approver and within a clearly defined period of time, and according to the laws and regulations of that country.
3. The Approver receives and reviews the Request. Based on the travel itinerary and justification, the Approver accepts or does not accept the Request, and signs and dates the form. This documentation is automatically sent via DocuSign to the Recovery Operations Center with copy to the Requester and Approver. Make sure you have selected the correct approver, since requests may be rejected if they are sent to the wrong approver.
4. ROC reconciles these requests with the UC Insurance Travel registration list in the case of international travel, and
5. If travel approved, ROC will contact the Requester to share standard links and a person to contact for travel safety information if needed, and will require email confirmation that the Requester has registered for UCSF travel insurance.
6. If travel not approved, ROC contacts anyone planning travel without approval to verify travel has been cancelled. If Requester wants to appeal the non-approval of travel, the ROC will send an email with the appeal process.
7. If the approval form is returned to you via Docusign without a signature and without an explanation, please reach out to the approver to understand the issue.

If You Need Travel Assistance

Country borders may close and flights may be limited. If you face challenges when attempting to obtain flights to the U.S., please read the following guidance:

• Members of the UCSF community who are currently abroad and intent on traveling to the United States are urged to work with their airlines to update travel arrangements. 
• UCSF travelers who are stranded and cannot get a flight to the U.S. AND who are traveling on UC-related business (e.g., rotations, research, meetings, consultancies, etc.) can contact United Health Care Global Assistance, however evacuations cannot be guaranteed and depend on local circumstances, individual illness requirements, and governmental orders:
  • 1-800-527-0218 (US and Canada)
  • 1-410-453-6330 (Call collect from outside the USA)
  • Email: [email protected]
• UCSF travelers on personal travel or vacation who are US citizens, and who cannot obtain a flight back to the US, should contact American Citizen Services (ACS). Lawful permanent residents (LPRs, or "green card holders") are included in emergency evacuations when there is the capability to do so.
• ACS may be inundated with a high volume of inquiries from travelers currently impacted by the widespread flight cancelations, so please excuse any delay in response.
• Rest assured that ACS (globally) is monitoring the situation closely and working on solutions for U.S. citizens abroad.
• For country-specific information, travelers need to contact the local ACS at the Embassy or Consulate nearest to them. Get Embassy and Consulate information abroad.
• Non-U.S. Citizens from many countries are not being allowed to enter the U.S. Please check current border restrictions before you attempt to return to the United States.