Coronavirus: Current Measures and Recommendations

Dear Colleagues and Staff Members,

As announced, we would like to inform you that we are now also able to issue employment verification letters for employees living in Baden-Württemberg. Starting mid-May, you will probably be eligible to book vaccination appointments. Currently, we are unable to provide more information. Therefore, we kindly ask you to follow the news as well to find out when university employees become eligible for booking vaccination appointments in Baden-Württemberg. The Ministry of Social Affairs will publish the relevant information on its website, for example. Please contact the vaccination centers and your physician, in particular, for more information on vaccination options.

The form to be completed by the employer is available on the Intranet. Please fill in the form and send it to arbeitgeberbescheinigung uni-mannheim.de. This allows us to process your requests more quickly.

Please note that submitting the official and updated form is the only way to ensure that the vaccination center acknowledges your eligibility for vaccination.

On the Intranet, you will find more information on employment verification forms for Covid-19 vaccine as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

Kind regards – and please stay healthy!

Your

Barbara Windscheid
Executive Vice President

Dear Colleagues and Staff Members,

In the last few days, the Human Resources division has received more and more questions regarding employment verification letters to be submitted to vaccination centers.

Based on the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO), the Federal Ministry of Health has defined priority groups for vaccinations against Covid-19 in Germany. Certain professional groups may be eligible for earlier vaccination. The employer has to confirm that the person to be vaccinated belongs to the professional groups eligible for earlier vaccination. The University of Mannheim aims to support the vaccination campaign as best as possible. We would like to inform all employees of the University of Mannheim about the possibility of an earlier vaccination, as members of a priority group. We are happy to issue the required letters, as soon as it is permissible under statutory law.

In Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, employees of the “critical infrastructure” and administrative staff members (including employees of higher education institutions) have already been added to the third priority group, even before 1 May 2021. According to the current vaccination regulation, this has not yet been the case in Baden-Württemberg. According to the Covid-19 vaccination regulation (Coronavirus-Impfverordnung) of the federal government, persons employed by higher education institutions in Germany are eligible for earlier vaccination.  According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, Baden-Württemberg will gradually open vaccination appointments to members of the third priority group. At first, people aged 60 and older were eligible to book vaccine appointments. From now on, persons with pre-existing conditions in the third priority group may book vaccine appointments. It is assumed that, starting mid-May, employees in the third priority group, including employees of higher education institutions, may become eligible to book vaccine appointments.

What does this mean for the university’s employees?

As before, teachers and other employees of the University of Mannheim, who have their place of residence in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, are eligible for vaccination. They are eligible to request an employment verification letter as proof for vaccination centers or other institutions offering vaccinations. In order to receive the employment verification letter, please contact arbeitgeberbescheinigung uni-mannheim.de. We would be very grateful, if you could already fill in the form provided by your Land. This allows us to process your requests more quickly.

If you live in Baden-Württemberg: The updated form to be completed by your employer is not yet available. Therefore, we would like to ask you to refrain from sending us these requests until the updated form is available. As soon as the updated form has been published, we will publish the link on the Intranet and send you an e-mail. Please note that submitting the official and updated form is the only way to ensure that the vaccination center acknowledges your eligibility for vaccination. We hope that the forms will be updated this week.

On the Intranet, you will find more up-to-date information on the employment verification letters and links to the forms of the individual Länder. In case you have any questions, please contact arbeitgeberbescheinigung uni-mannheim.de.

If you do not live in Baden-Württemberg and learn more about changes to the vaccine prioritization for your Land, please inform the Task Force, so that we are able to react quickly to new developments.

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy. Kind regards,

Your

Barbara Windscheid                                                                    Thomas Puhl
Executive Vice President                                                             President

Dear Colleagues and Staff Members,

In order to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the German Bundestag and Bundesrat have added a new section to the German infection protection act (Infektionsschutzgesetz). The occupational health and safety regulation (Arbeitsschutzverordnung), last amended on 20 April, has also been extended by new regulations.

For the university, the following amendments are relevant: The obligation of employers to allow employees to work from home has been reinforced.From now on, employers must also provide employees working on its premises with two at-home Covid-19 test kits per week, if they come to work on at least two days a week. In detail, this means:

Stricter obligation to work from home
Under the German infection protection act (section 28b subsection 7) employers are required “to offer employees carrying out office work or comparable activities to work from home, if there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary.” The university has already implemented this regulation. However, employees are now obliged to accept this offer unless there are reasons for them not to do so.

For employees, this means: Please check if you can work entirely from home. If this is not possible, please check if you are able to restrict the time spent on campus even more or if this is not possible due to organizational or personal reasons (no home office space at home/equipment not sufficient, child care, etc.). If possible, please work from home. If you are not able to work from home, please talk to your superior and explain why you are not able to accept the offer to work from home.

For superiors, this means: Please check if your employees can work entirely from home or if they can restrict the time spent on campus even more. Please check if the risk assessment form, which you completed for your department, is still valid, now that the framework conditions have changed. If updates are required for your department, please document your opinion on the requirement of your staff working on campus and send a copy of the updated document to: arbeitssicherheit uni-mannheim.de. You do not need to complete the risk assessment form for every employee. It is sufficient if you complete one form for your department.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Department of Safety and Security.

More Covid-19 test kits for employees
From now on, the university provides employees who (have to) work on campus, with two at-home test kits per week. The order process stays the same. On our website., you will find everything you need to know.

Observation of the hygiene policy after vaccination
We are frequently asked if fully vaccinated persons still need to observe the university’s hygiene policy.

The hygiene policy must still be observed. Currently, full vaccination against Covid-19 plus a wait time of 14 days does not exempt you from observing the hygiene policy and the obligation to work from home.

To ensure the effectiveness of the measures and to gain control of the third wave, we, as a society, need to stand together. Let us strictly observe the regulations and recommendations and reduce our social contacts in our professional and private lives as much as possible in the upcoming weeks.

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy. Kind regards,

Your

Barbara Windscheid                                                                    Thomas Puhl
Executive Vice President                                                             President

Dear Colleagues and Staff Members,

The federal government of Germany has amended the occupational health and safety regulation. The amendment will enter into effect on 20 April 2021 and will require employers to offer Covid-19 testing to all employees who cannot work from home. The regulation will be valid until 30 June 2021. A few weeks ago, the university has procured at-home Covid-19 tests and has received the first batch last week. The supervisors could already submit orders for the individual institutions. Some test kits are still available and we will procure more.

The university will provide test kits to all employees (including student assistants) who (have to) work on campus, either occasionally or regularly, and all those taking part in on-campus examinations.You can take one free at-home Covid-19 test provided by the university per week/per examination. Initially, the offer is valid until 30 June. All those taking part in examinations on campus will be informed about this offer in a separate e-mail.

In addition, every citizen can get a free rapid test performed by trained professionals in pharmacies, doctor’s offices or test centers. We highly recommend these services to you (instead of or in addition to the at-home test provided by the university), if possible. On the website of the City of Mannheim, you will find an overview about the testing sites in Mannheim.

The (self-swab) test is voluntary and does not replace strict adherence to the hygiene policy. However, we recommend this offer in particular to those who have to be on-campus regularly. Weekly tests can help to make working on campus safer and can contribute to better protect your colleagues – and also yourself – from an infection.

How do employees get their weekly Covid-19 test kit?
Per institution/division/chair, only one order should be submitted. Please contact your superior if you want to make use of the test kits provided by the university. Your superior keeps track of the demand or estimates the demand for your institution and submits an order for all employees. Every employee who works on campus may receive one Covid-19 test kit per week. Due to the difficult conditions on the market, our stock is currently limited. In order to provide all institutions with test kits, superiors may order only for the next two weeks. After that, a new order has to be submitted. Supervisors or staff members commissioned by supervisors send their orders to hygienebedarf uni-mannheim.de. The institutions will receive the test kits by internal mail in a single delivery.

How to take the test
The Covid-19 tests provided by the university are at-home tests. This means that the tests will not be performed by medical professionals. You will receive the tests by internal mail. Please take the test at home and follow the instructions for use in the package insert. On the website of ZEIT Online, for example, you will find a video with step-by-step instructions.

When should I test?
After you have received the at-home Covid-19 test kits, we ask you to take a test once per week on one of the days you are spending on campus before you enter the university’s premises. If you test positive, this is the only way to react in due time and to prevent a possible infection of colleagues and students you might meet on this day.

What should I do if I test positive/negative for Covid-19?
Positive test result: If the result of your at-home test is positive, please do not enter the campus. In this case, please stay at home or return to your home as soon as possible for self-isolation. To make sure that the result is correct, a PCR test needs to be taken. Please contact your physician or call 116 117. On our website on coronavirus measures, you will find more information on what to do if a team member tested positive for the coronavirus.

Negative test result: You may enter the campus. Please note that all persons on the university’s campus must adhere to the hygiene policy of the university. The test is not 100% accurate and provides results only for the moment in time that the test is collected. It is a useful addition to the hygiene policy, but no replacement.

We would be happy if you regularly use the test kits offered by the university and the services of other testing sites and contribute to making the campus safer for colleagues and students.

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy. Kind regards,

Your

Barbara Windscheid                                      Prof. Dr. Thomas Puhl                  
Executive Vice President                              President

Dear Colleagues and Staff Members,

The Corona Ordinance of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (Corona-VO) has again been modified with changes effective as of 29 March 2021. The state government has extended the lockdown and the imposed measures until 18 April 2021 in response to the new surge in infections.

This means that the measures we have taken at the university will also remain in force. Until at least 18 April 2021, only authorized university members with a valid ecUM card can enter the university buildings. Until at least 30 April 2021, anyone accessing the buildings is required to wear a medical-grade face mask in line with the occupational health and safety regulation of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). Until that same date, all employees who are able to perform their tasks and responsibilities away from campus are obliged to work from home. Classes will continue online as planned and will only be held on campus in exceptional cases. The University Library will remain open for students and patrons to pick up pre-ordered items and to use the study areas upon prior seat reservation.

Besides restricting on-campus presence wherever possible and observing the hygiene policy, rapid testing is also considered a suitable means to prevent infections. In addition to the initiative of the Land to provide appropriate tests, the University of Mannheim is also making an effort to procure rapid at-home tests for employees and students to administer themselves. However, this is proving difficult as these kinds of tests are currently in very high demand. We will inform you as soon as we have further news on the subject.

I hope this letter finds you and your family healthy.

Kind regards,

Barbara Windscheid
Executive Vice President

Persons showing symptoms indicative of the coronavirus (fever, dry cough, impaired smelling or taste) are not allowed to enter the premises of the university. Employees with symptoms of a cold have to leave the workplace or stay at home until their symptoms have been checked by a doctor.

Should you notice symptoms indicative of the coronavirus in yourself while on campus, please leave ongoing events and classes/your workspace and stay at home until the symptoms have been checked by a doctor.

The university management recommends using the Corona-Warn-App of the Federal Government.

When it comes to working in times of the coronavirus pandemic, the safety and health of our employees comes first. Safety at work is key in this regard. In light of the present epidemiological situation, this hygiene policy lays out the necessary measures that must be followed by all employees within the buildings, premises and vehicles of the university. The rules for employees apply analogously to all students and other university members unless special regulations are in place for certain groups of persons.

The hygiene policy is regularly adapted to the latest provisions and recommendations of the public authorities and to the corresponding coronavirus measures taken or adapted by the university and their impact on the restrictions for the university.

In order to prevent possible further transmission,

• please watch your distance (1,5 meters), and
• please wear a (as of 25 January: medical-grade) face mask, and
• please pay attention to proper hand hygiene and
• cough and sneeze etiquette (cover your mouth with your bent elbow or tissue when coughing/sneezing),
• avoid shaking hands,
• avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, and
• regularly air rooms.

Additional Tips

Additional tips on hygiene measures can be found on the websites of the Federal Centre for Health Education, BZgA (in German) and the Federal Ministry of Health.

Moreover, please stay up-to-date on the situation and inform yourself on the websites of the Robert Koch Institute regularly and consider the current information and recommendations.

As of 25 January and until further notice, all persons on campus must wear a medical-grade face mask (surgical mask or FFP2/N95/KN95 mask) in circulation areas (hallways, staircases) and in communal rooms (washrooms, kitchenettes) of the university buildings. In situations where employees are in direct contact with customers or cannot maintain the minimum distance of 1.5 meters to other people while carrying out their work duties, they must wear medical-grade face masks to cover their mouths and noses.

The university provides employees with single-use surgical masks or FFP2 masks. The masks have been tested by the university and meet the quality requirements of EN149. The masks provided by the University of Mannheim are therefore not affected by the product recalls from the federal and state governments. FFP2 masks are primarily given to employees who work in the University Library, the post office and the janitor service as well as to staff members belonging to the risk group (according to the recommendations of the RKI). For more information on how departments and institutions can order these surgical face masks for their employees, please see the website of Department IV (in German).

Students are individually responsible for securing an appropriate mouth and nose covering.

Note on wearing FFP2 masks: Please note that you should not wear FFP2 masks continuously throughout an entire working day. If you plan to wear an FFP2 mask for a longer time, please make sure that you take breaks from wearing the mask (for example a break of 30 minutes every 75 minutes) and ideally you should change the mask after wearing it for two to three hours. Further information is available here (in German): https://www.baua.de/DE/Themen/Arbeitsgestaltung-im-Betrieb/Coronavirus/pdf/Empfehlungen-organisatorische-Massnahmen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=10

The University of Mannheim does not consider protective face shields or visors to be an adequate alternative to mouth and nose coverings such as non-surgical or surgical face masks. They thus do not comply with the regulations laid down in the university's hygiene policy. The Robert Koch Institute points out that mouth and nose coverings must be placed correctly over the mouth, nose, and cheeks and must fit as tightly as possible in order to minimize the flow of air at the edges. This protection is not given with face shields or protective visors.

In case of any questions, please contact the occupational medical service of the University of Mannheim. Please direct concrete medical questions via e-mail to amd uni-mannheim.de. In case you would like a phone appointment with the physician of the occupational medical service, please send an e-mail with the subject “coronavirus” to bgm verwaltung.uni-mannheim.de.

In order to implement the Hygiene Policy, the assembly and filling of permanently installed disinfectant dispensers at the main entrances to the university buildings will be organized centrally. In addition, Department IV provides centrally financed and stocked protection and hygiene articles (such as medical-grade face masks). Information on ordering can be found on the website of Department IV (in German).

On the intranet, you will find bilingual signs with behavioral rules and recommendations during the coronavirus pandemic. Please download, print and put up them up in your work area if applicable.

What happens when Mannheim becomes or stays a coronavirus hotspot?

The hygiene policy of the University of Mannheim will continue to apply. The policy implements the provisions of the coronavirus decree of the Land of Baden-Württemberg (Corona-VO) and the coronavirus decree for higher education and arts (Corona-VO Studienbetrieb) and also takes into account the requirements of occupational safety. The hygiene policy has also been coordinated with the health authority of the City of Mannheim. In addition, the task force checks on a daily basis whether further measures – such as limiting the maximum number of people who are allowed to gather in public areas or attend an event – need to be taken pursuant to the provisions under federal state or municipal law. The task force would communicate any possible changes or alterations on this website and, if necessary, update the university's hygiene policy.

The hygiene policy is intended to help prevent infections, even if an infected person is at the University of Mannheim. A prerequisite for this is strict adherence to the policy – so please remind yourself and, if necessary, others of it. Please also continue to adhere to the prevailing hygiene measures, in particular the obligation to wear mouth and nose coverings, to maintain the minimum safety distance of 1.5 meters to each other and to perform proper hand hygiene. Please also note that, according to the current hygiene policy, any individuals displaying symptoms of a cold must leave their university workspace or stay away from it. Furthermore, it is possible to agree upon working from home with your superior, provided that your official duties allow it.

What happens if my place of residence becomes a coronavirus hotspot?
If your place of residence has been declared a coronavirus hotspot, you are nevertheless allowed to come to and work at your university workspace, provided that you comply with all hygiene regulations and do not display any symptoms of a cold.

What happens if I plan a business trip to a location that has been declared a coronavirus hotspot?
For information on business trips to risk areas, coronavirus hotspots in Germany, and non-risk areas, please click here.

Due to the current development of the COVID-19 infection rates, it is more likely that over time colleagues or students of our university could get infected.

The three documents below will inform you about what to do in case you are tested positive for COVID-19 or if you as superior are informed that one of the members of your team or department was tested positive. Attached you will also find a text template for communicating with the staff members.

In case a participant of one of your classes notifies you that they were tested positive for the coronavirus, please take note of the following information on what to do next:

First, you should check in which of your classes the infected person participated and if the hygiene policy of the University of Mannheim was observed.

1. The hygiene policy was observed: Provided that the hygiene policy was observed in the respective class (distance was kept, seating plan was observed, face masks were worn as stipulated in the valid version of the CoronaVO on that day, the room was aired in case it did not have a ventilation system), the class can still take place on campus. We recommend that you ask the students at the beginning of the next class if they think that the hygiene policy was observed at all times.
2. The hygiene policy was not observed: In case the hygiene policy was not properly implemented and observed in your class, please contact the task force immediately. We recommend that all participants contact their doctor to inform themselves about what to do next.

If necessary, the health authorities will officially inform the participants about the next steps in this case of infection. However, in the interest of all people involved, we would like to ask you to inform the participants of your class about this confirmed case of infection as a precaution. You will find a text template to communicate with your students at the end of this e-mail. In case your students have questions after reading your e-mail, please advise them to speak to a doctor.

Please inform the task force about the situation in any case and let us know which class was affected on which day. You should also inform your chair holder and your dean’s office about this situation. If you have any questions, please write an e-mail to task-force uni-mannheim.de.

Please also forward this e-mail to the (other) tutors at your chair.

Kind regards and please take care!

Your

Task force of the University of Mannheim

Text template “Information for the students”:

Dear Students,

Today we would like to inform you that one of the participants in the class „___“ on weekday, date was tested positive for the coronavirus.

In case the hygiene policy of the University of Mannheim, which was coordinated with the health authority, was properly implemented and observed during the class on weekday, date, you are still allowed to enter the campus of the university. The respective class can also still take place on campus.

Please ask yourself if you observed the hygiene policy in the respective class at all times – also right before and after the class (for example when entering the room or when speaking to others in the hallway etc.) Please inform your teacher immediately in case you think that you did not properly observe the hygiene policy.

The health authority will take action in case further steps should be necessary.

We would like to ask you to follow the hygiene policy of the university whenever you are on campus, especially when you are in contact with other people. The Central Administration also recommends using the Corona-Warn-App of the Federal Government.

In case you feel unsure about the situation, you are welcome to reach out to your doctor with any additional questions.

In line with the hygiene policy, we would like to remind you that in case you develop symptoms that are typical for a coronavirus infection, you are not allowed to enter the campus and you may not participate in classes and events of the university until your symptoms have been checked by a doctor.

In case you have any questions to the university, please send an e-mail to task-force uni-mannheim.de.

Kind regards and please take care!

Your

Task force of the University of Mannheim

The federal government of Germany has amended the occupational health and safety regulation. The amendment will enter into effect on 23 April 2021 and will require employers to offer Covid-19 testing to all employees who cannot work from home. The regulation will be valid until 30 June 2021.

The university will provide test kits to all employees (including student assistants) who (have to) work on campus, either occasionally or regularly, and all those taking part in on-campus examinations. You can take up to two free at-home Covid-19 testsper week: The university provides employees with two at-home Covid-19 test kits per week, if they come to work on at least two days a week; if they come to work on one day a week, they will continue to receive one test kit per week. Those taking part in on-campus examinations can get one test per examination. Initially, the offer is valid until 30 June. All those taking part in examinations on campus will be informed about this offer in a separate e-mail.

In addition, every citizen can get a free rapid test performed by trained professionals in pharmacies, doctor’s offices or test centers. We highly recommend these services to you (instead of or in addition to the at-home test provided by the university), if possible. On the website of the City of Mannheim, you will find an overview about the testing sites in Mannheim.

The (self-swab) test is voluntary and does not replace strict adherence to the hygiene policy. However, we recommend this offer in particular to those who have to be on-campus regularly. Weekly tests can help to make working on campus safer and can contribute to better protect your colleagues – and also yourself – from an infection.

How do employees get their weekly Covid-19 test kit?
Per institution/division/chair, only one order should be submitted. Please contact your superior if you want to make use of the test kits provided by the university. Your superior keeps track of the demand or estimates the demand for your institution and submits an order for all employees. Every employee who works on campus may receive up to two Covid-19 test kit per week. Due to the difficult conditions on the market, our stock is currently limited. In order to provide all institutions with test kits, superiors may order only for the next two weeks. After that, a new order has to be submitted. Supervisors or staff members commissioned by supervisors send their orders to hygienebedarf uni-mannheim.de. The institutions will receive the test kits by internal mail in a single delivery.

How to take the test
The Covid-19 tests provided by the university are at-home tests. This means that the tests will not be performed by medical professionals. You will receive the tests by internal mail. Please take the test at home and follow the instructions for use in the package insert. On the website of ZEIT Online, for example, you will find a video with step-by-step instructions.

When should I test?
After you have received the at-home Covid-19 test kits, we ask you to take a test once per week on one of the days you are spending on campus before you enter the university’s premises. If you test positive, this is the only way to react in due time and to prevent a possible infection of colleagues and students you might meet on this day.

What should I do if I test positive/negative for Covid-19?
Positive test result: If the result of your at-home test is positive, please do not enter the campus. In this case, please stay at home or return to your home as soon as possible for self-isolation. To make sure that the result is correct, a PCR test needs to be taken. Please contact your physician or call 116 117. On our website on coronavirus measures, you will find more information on what to do if a team member tested positive for the coronavirus.

Negative test result: You may enter the campus. Please note that all persons on the university’s campus must adhere to the hygiene policy of the university. The test is not 100% accurate and provides results only for the moment in time that the test is collected. It is a useful addition to the hygiene policy, but no replacement.

Persons showing symptoms indicative of the coronavirus (fever, dry cough, impaired smelling or taste) are not allowed to enter the premises of the university. Employees with symptoms of a cold have to leave the workplace or stay at home until their symptoms have been checked by a doctor.

Business trips to coronavirus hot spots in Germany
Business trips to coronavirus hot spot areas are currently not permitted (see the current list of risk areas). This also applies to business trips that were already approved, provided that the respective city or region was classified as a risk area only after the approval of the business trip. In case a city or region is classified as a risk area only after you have traveled there for your business trip, please contact the head of Division V immediately.

In any case, please inform yourself about the development of the coronavirus pandemic in your destination both before and during your business trip.

In exceptional cases in which it is necessary to make a business trip to a coronavirus hot spot area for urgent work-related purposes, an individual decision can be made upon request considering the risks involved. Please also note that the business trip can only be approved if no quarantine is to be observed upon your return.

For such an individual decision to be made, we need the following documents in advance:

1) a special written justification of the superior stating why the trip is necessary and why the purpose of the business trip cannot be achieved by participating in the respective event in digital form and

2) a confirmation of the staff member planning the trip that they will adhere to the prevailing hygiene regulations of the University of Mannheim during their entire business trip.

Please submit all relevant documents in due time to ensure that any questions can be clarified before you start your trip. We also ask you to provide us with a telephone number or e-mail address, so that we can reach you at short notice, if necessary. Please note that the insurance coverage and the option of having your travel expenses reimbursed only starts once your business trip has been approved.

In order to submit your request and in case you have any other questions regarding business trips, please contact the travel expenses office of Division V – Human Resources via e-mail, if possible.

In case you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact the travel expenses office.

Business trips to risk areas
Business trips to risk areas are currently not allowed (please see the current list of risk areas according to the decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs on quarantine measures for entering and returning to the Land of Baden-Württemberg in order to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus). This also applies to business trips that were already approved, provided that the country or the region was classified as a risk area after the approval of the business trip. In case a region or country is classified as a risk area after you have traveled there for your business trip, please contact the head of Division V immediately.

Please inform yourself about the development of the coronavirus pandemic in your destination and about possible travel restrictions before and during your business trip. Please also take note of the information from the Federal Foreign Office, the Robert Koch Institute and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Mandatory testing and quarantine
Please note that you must comply with the prevailing regulations for mandatory testing and quarantine according to the decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs on quarantine measures for entering and returning to the Land of Baden-Württemberg in order to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (CoronaVO EQ) when you enter or return to Baden-Württemberg.
The relevant regulations are available here: www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/service/aktuelle-infos-zu-corona/verordnung-fuer-ein-und-rueckreisende/

What this means for you: Please do not come back to the university as long as you have not complied with the regulations of the CoronaVO EQ (please see above) and especially if must observe time in quarantine. Should you have questions regarding retuning to your workplace at the University of Mannheim, please contact the head of Division V (from home).

Business trips to non-risk areas
We would like to ask you not to take any business trips until further notice, even if these take place in regions (also within Germany) and countries that currently are not classified as risk areas or hot spots.

In exceptional cases in which it is necessary to participate in a business trip in a non-risk area for work-related purposes, an individual decision can be made upon request. For such an individual decision to be made, we need the following documents in advance:

1) the written justification of the superior why the trip is necessary and why the purpose of the business trip cannot be achieved by participating in digital form and

2) a confirmation of the staff member planning the trip that they will adhere to the prevailing hygiene regulations of the University of Mannheim during their entire business trip.

3) For business trips abroad, we recommend that you buy private travel health insurance. Please inform us for the individual decision if you bought travel health insurance.

Please submit all relevant documents in due time and take into account that the processing time for approving the business trip is two weeks. Please note that the general insurance coverage and the option for reimbursement are subject to the approval of the business trip.

In order to submit your request and in case you have any other questions regarding business trips, please contact the travel expenses office of Division V – Human Resources.

Voucher refund
Various transport companies are forced by the coronavirus regulations to cancel planned business trips and are now offering refunds in form of vouchers instead of cash. Please do not accept a voucher before you get in touch with out travel expenses office. You contact person is Ms. Lechner.

The University IT (UNIT) is working hard to expand its digital services to compensate for the suspension of classroom teaching through digital teaching formats, and to enable all employees who currently work in the home office to cooperate as effectively as possible. A summary of all news and updates on these two topics can be found on this website.

During the last months, the Central Administration and the University IT have joined forces to ensure that the administration services run smoothly and to make personal consultations possible – even under coronavirus constraints and without any direct face-to-face contact. You can book advising appointments with the staff members of the administration via Microsoft Teams. Booking virtual meetings with several persons is also possible.

Online appointments
You now also have the option to book appointments with the responsible advisors online. You can find a link to book appointments online in the contact information of the respective contact person. For matters regarding student affairs, it is possible to book appointments on the web pages of Division II. For matters regarding human resources or other topics of Division V, you can send appointment requests via the intranet page of Division V. Persons who are not employed at the university can use the online contact form on the web page of Division V to get in touch. For infection control reasons and due to the room conditions, these appointments will primarily take place via MS Teams or telephone. In special cases, appointments may also be possible in person.

Signing contracts
Wherever possible, contracts will be concluded either electronically or by (internal) mail. If this is not possible, for instance in the case of employment contracts, you will receive an individual appointment in person.

Requesting certificates
The Central Administration are happy to send you confirmations and certificates either electronically or by (internal) mail.

Submitting documents
You can send files and documents either electronically or, if an original is required, by (internal) mail to the Central Administration.

Janitor
All janitors are working during their regular working hours and can be contacted as usual.

Reception Desk
The Reception Desk at the main entrance is occupied by two persons at all times (24 hours / 7 days a week). In case of any questions or problems, please contact the hotline of the Reception Desk by calling 181-1110.

Technical Equipment
All technical equipment and systems can be used as in times before the start of the pandemic. Special regulations only apply to the following systems:

Opening Hours of the University Buildings
As of 17 December 2020 and until further notice, only university members can still access the university buildings with their activated ecUM cards in order to work in the offices. Staff members should generally have access to the buildings.

Employees who do not yet have access can submit a request via the institution or chair responsible for them. The relevant form is available for download on the intranet page of Division III. The request must be approved by the institution/chair and can be sent electronically to the office that will process it.

Elevators
Elevators may only be used by one person at a time and should only be used by people with reduced mobility or to transport heavy loads.

Ventilation systems
The ventilation systems are operated under special regulations.

All measures of the University of Mannheim aim at minimizing the risk of infection and stopping the further spread of the coronavirus. However, it is impossible to guarantee full protection. According to the latest scientific knowledge, the coronavirus is primarily transmitted through droplets. Airing generally reduces the risk of infection through aerosols and therefore plays a vital role in our concept to slow the spread of the coronavirus. For this reason, we recommend to air rooms frequently with as much fresh outdoor air as possible.

At the University of Mannheim, all commonly used rooms and offices can at least be aired by manually opening the windows. Larger rooms with a possible seating capacity of more than 50 persons are usually equipped with a ventilation system. When using such large rooms, ventilation systems (RLT systems) are absolutely necessary from a hygiene and energetic point of view to fulfill the legal requirements.

RLT systems ensure a high level of safety, because they purify the incoming air from outside with filters to separate small particles. As a result, the secure supply of purified air in an RLT system dilutes possible contaminations and lowers the number of viruses in a room. Furthermore, special zones and pressure controls ensure that contaminants from outgoing air of a room cannot spread throughout the whole building. In addition, RLT systems can be operated in every weather condition.

Find more information on the RLT ventilation system on the intranet.

In order to minimize the risk of infection, the university management has instructed all superiors to make sure the adopted measures are implemented in their respective divisions and departments. Implementation of the measures must be documented. The form for risk assessment, which you can find on the intranet, is intended to be a checklist for superiors and is to support help them fulfill their responsibility in this regard.

The necessary measures that superiors need to implement before their employees return to the workplace include a safety training regarding the fundamentals of the hygiene policy. The safety training needs to take place on the employees’ first day back at their offices at the latest. Participation in the online safety training needs to be documented by means of a signature and needs to be forwarded to the superior. Please find the respective form on the intranet.

According to the current Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance, employers are required to offer home office until the pandemic situation is lifted, no later than the end of June 30, 2021. The Central University Administration emphasizes once more that all superiors should only allow as few employees as absolutely necessary to work on the university premises during the strict lockdown. Employees should only work on the university premises if they cannot fulfill their work duties from home or if working from home means that internal or external deadlines cannot be met. It is not necessary to hand in an application for telework.

Under the German infection protection act (section 28b subsection 7) employees are now also obliged to accept this offer unless there are reasons for them not to do so.

For employees, this means: Please check if you can work entirely from home. If this is not possible, please check if you are able to restrict the time spent on campus even more or if this is not possible due to organizational or personal reasons (no home office space at home/equipment not sufficient, child care, etc.). If possible, please work from home. If you are not able to work from home, please talk to your superior and explain why you are not able to accept the offer to work from home.

For superiors, this means: Please check if your employees can work entirely from home or if they can restrict the time spent on campus even more. Please check if the risk assessment form, which you completed for your department, is still valid, now that the framework conditions have changed. If updates are required for your department, please document your opinion on the requirement of your staff working on campus and send a copy of the updated document to: arbeitssicherheit uni-mannheim.de. You do not need to complete the risk assessment form for every employee. It is sufficient if you complete one form for your department.

Paid leave
In the few cases where working from home is not an option, we ask the responsible superiors to grant their employees a paid leave of absence for the period of emergency operations. The extent of the leave of absence must then be documented. For more information, please see the coronavirus topic page on the intranet.

Home office regulations
Due to the exceptional situation, working from home can be approved by your superior alone and, until further notice, does not need additional approval from the human resourcesdepartment. The approval of your superior may be recalled at any time. The flexible working hours remain unchanged until further notice and employees can work from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Furthermore, employees need to be reachable when working from home.

Check e-mails several times a day
In this exceptional situation, it is crucial that we keep communicating with all our staff members. This also applies to those among you who are currently working at home or have taken leave of absence. This is the only way to ensure that important information and new necessary measures can be communicated to all employees in due time and can be followed accordingly. Therefore, all staff members are required to check their e-mails at least once, but preferably several times a day. They must also ensure that they can be reached by telephone during the usual office hours.

Taking home materials from your office
It is generally not possible to procure work equipment and material that will only be used by employees who work from home. Work equipment and materials may only be procured for the university’s “regular workplace operations” within the valid regulations.

However, employees can borrow work equipment from their university workplace that they need in order to work from home. This rule does not apply to furniture. The head of your institution decides if you are allowed to borrow equipment from your workplace. In case employees take work equipment home, the relevant head of the institution must ensure that this work equipment is returned to the university when this exceptional situation is over.

Furthermore, employees may borrow old work equipment from the university’s storeroom.

Documents containing personal data and original documents need to remain at the university. Please make sure to return any working materials to the university, once you come back after this crisis is behind us.

Online contact tracing via “Checkin”
In order to trace possible routes of transmission, the University of Mannheim is obliged to collect contact information of all participants (students, teachers, guests etc.) in on-campus classes. This contact information must be stored for four weeks in case the health authorities inquires about it. By the beginning of the semester, we will implement the new digital application “Checkin” to collect contact information. This application will be used instead of or in addition to the paper forms that are currently used. You can find further information and the link to the application on the website of the University IT. Please do not hesitate to contact the IT support in case of questions or problems.

Paper forms for participants without mobile device
Participants without mobile device can still use a paper form and fill in their contact information. The forms will be available in the orange boxes in the lecture halls in due time. Additional copies are available at the Reception Desk at the main entrance of Schloss Ostflügel or on the intranet for printing. For all classes for which you booked a room via the GmbH, please submit the paper forms to the Reception Desk after the class has ended (please also refer to the PDF Handreichung Corona Präsenzveranstaltungen (Regulations for On-Campus Classes and Meetings in the Rooms of the University of Mannheim). In all other cases, please write down the data of all participants yourself and keep the respective data for four weeks.

Mandatory collection of telephone numbers 
Please note that it is no longer sufficient to only collect participants’ e-mail addresses during classes or advising appointments on campus. In order for the local health authority to be able to reach all individuals swiftly and reliably in cases of suspected infection, you are required to collect participants’ telephone number instead of their e-mail address and store it for four weeks.

For advising appointments, you can simply use the Typo3 plug-in for appointments that was designed and made available by the University IT. If you enable the option for collecting contact information for contact tracing in the plug-in, all data including the telephone number will automatically be stored for four weeks and then be deleted. You can find out how to access the stored data in the instructions for the appointment tool (only available in German).

For on-campus classes, the telephone number is collected automatically, because it is a mandatory field in the online form of “Checkin”.

Suspension of on-campus classes starting on 2 November 2020
According to the new coronavirus decree for higher education and the arts (Corona-Verordnung Studienbetrieb und Kunst), in-person classes are only possible in individual cases. They may only be held on campus if special protective measures are in place and if the class in question cannot take place online. Such classes require prior approval by the President's Office.

If you as an instructor see the need to continue your class in person (for instance as a block seminar) and have not yet requested approval from the President’s Office, we ask you to send an e-mail to Ms. Dr. Regine Zeller (HDZ) at the latest ten days before the class is scheduled to take place. Please state the title, place, number of participants and circumstances of the course and give a brief explanation why it is essential to hold the class in person. You will be informed about the decision of the President's Office in due time and asked to notify your students accordingly.

Corona checklist for on-campus classes
You will find a Corona checklist for on-campus classesas well as furtherguidelines on hosting events on the intranet.

Contact tracing in classes
In order to trace possible routes of transmission, the University of Mannheim is obliged to collect contact information of all participants (students, teachers, guests etc.) in on-campus classes. This contact information must be stored for four weeks in case the health authorities inquires about it. By the beginning of the semester, we will implement the new digital application “Checkin” to collect contact information. This application will be used instead of or in addition to the paper forms that are currently used.

You can find further information on contact tracing in general here.
You can find further information and the link to the application on the website of the University IT.

Digital teaching
The university IT has created a website that summarises all news and updates concerning the switch to digital teaching.

Partcipant of a class tested positive for COVID-19
In case a participant of one of your classes notifies you that they were tested positive for the coronavirus, please take note of the information on our website on what to do next.

On their website, the Department of Gender Equality and Social Diversity has compiled a number of useful links on various topics  – all of them are related to the issue of reconciling family and career or family and studies during the coronavirus crisis.

The flexible working hours remain unchanged until further notice so that employees can work between 5 a.m. until 10 p.m.

We would also like to ask you to hold digital meetings whenever the business issues allow. The superiors decide if a meeting takes place online or in-person, as they are also responsible for ensuring that the hygiene policy is strictly followed during the meeting.

The university post office is open for you from 7 a.m. to noon. You do not need to make an appointment in advance.Please maintain the mandatory distance when picking up your mail and wait in front of the post office in case a colleague is already inside.

In the fall semester 2020/2021, exams will be mainly held online. In-person exams scheduled for this semester will presumably take place as scheduled.

Should there be any short-term changes due to the new regulations, we will inform you directly via e-mail.

Private trips to risk areas
It is your private decision if you travel a risk area or a German hot sport in your private time. However, please note that you must comply with the prevailing regulations for mandatory testing and quarantine according to the decree of the Ministry of Social Affairs on quarantine measures for entering and returning to the Land of Baden-Württemberg in order to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (CoronaVO EQ) when you return to Baden-Württemberg from private trips. The relevant regulations are available here: www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/service/aktuelle-infos-zu-corona/verordnung-fuer-ein-und-rueckreisende/.

Please bear in mind that you have to check with your superior/s that not only your vacation/absence is approved but also the following absence due to the mandatory quarantine.

In this context, we would like to point out that we cannot grant you paid leave while you are in mandatory quarantine, since this absence is based on your private decision. For this reason, you have to check with your superior/s if you can take days of leave for the duration of the quarantine or if – for some or all of that time – you can work from home, use overtime hours, or if unpaid leave is an option. If the interests of the university generally allow that the days in quarantine can be taken off directly after the holiday, this period must be covered by one of the measures mentioned above or by a combination of these. Paid leave is not possible. In cases of doubt, please contact the head of Division V.

Please inform yourself about the development of the coronavirus pandemic in your destination and about possible travel restrictions before and during your private trip. Please also take note of the information from the Federal Foreign Office, the Robert Koch Institute and the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Should the coronavirus situation worsen during your private trip and the region or country that you are in is classified as a risk area after you arrive, you must observe the current regulations for entering and returning to Baden-Württemberg. Should you have questions regarding retuning to your workplace at the University of Mannheim, please contact the head of Division V (from home).

Since many schools/day care facilities are still closed or partially closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, affected parents should have the option to work from home in order to look after their children.

For the few cases where working from home is not an option, employees can use overtime hours or vacation days, where available. If not opposed by official reasons, superiors are to prioritize these requests and to meet the wishes of the employees. In particular cases of hardship (i.e. single parents without any help for child care) paid leave can be granted until further notice. Further information can be found in the intranet.

Due to the exceptional situation, working from home can be approved by your superior alone and, until further notice, does notneed additional approval from the human resources department. The approval of your superior may be recalled at any time. The flexible working hours remain unchanged until further notice and employees can work from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. because of the partial closure of schools and day care facilities.

In case you need a certificate of indispensability (Unabkömmlichkeitsbescheinigung) from your employer so that your children can attend emergency child care, please have your supervisor send a formal request to your advisor in the Human Resources department. Your competent advisor in the Human Resources department will be happy to advise you on this topic.

Furthermore, employees need to be reachable when working from home.

According to the Corona Ordinance (CoronaVO) of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, no events are currently allowed to take place. Examinations are exempt from this regulation.

Events and meetings are subject to the current version of the CoronaVO and the current version of the university's hygiene policy.

Room bookings / Implementation of the hygiene policy during events and classes
The regulations to protect participants from infection and the regulations laid out in the hygiene policy must be observed during gatherings, events and classes. You can find suitable rooms and the respective maximum number of people that are allowed in each room in the “Corona” building in Portal². You can also book the rooms there. Further information on conducting events and classes are available in the PDF “Handreichung Corona Präsenzveranstaltungen (EN)” (Regulations for On-Campus Classes and Meetings in the Rooms of the University of Mannheim).

Contact tracing via “Checkin”
In order to trace possible routes of transmission, the University of Mannheim is obliged to collect contact information of all participants (students, teachers, guests etc.) in on-campus classes. This contact information must be stored for four weeks in case the health authorities inquires about it. By the beginning of the semester, we will implement the new digital application “Checkin” to collect contact information. This application will be used instead of or in addition to the forms on paper that are currently used. Further information on contact tracing, whether online or on paper, is available on the website or the intranet in the section “Contact tracing”.

Guidelines and checklists
You will find a Corona checklist for on-campus classes as well as further guidelines on hosting events on the intranet.

Our guidelines for a fair interview process during the coronavirus pandemic are available on the intranet.

Up-to-date information on the opening of the library can be found on the website of the university library.

According to the Corona Ordinance (CoronaVO) of the Land of Baden-Württemberg, no events are currently allowed to take place. Examinations are exempt from this regulation.

The university buildings are closed until 18 April 2021. University members can still access the university buildings with their activated ecUM cards.

Please note: Persons showing symptoms indicative of the coronavirus (fever, dry cough, impaired smelling or taste) are not allowed to enter the premises of the university.

Should you notice symptoms indicative of the coronavirus in yourself while on campus, please leave ongoing events and classes or stay at home until the symptoms have been checked by a doctor.