On 22 March, the federal and state governments agreed on the following guidelines for social distancing (amended 16 May):

• From 27 April you are required to wear a non-medical mask (or a scarf covering nose and mouth) when shopping, using public transportation and at airports.
• Everyone is advised to limit contact with people other than those living in the same household to the absolute minimum necessary.
• When in public a minimum distance of at least 1.5 metres is to be kept wherever possible between all persons other than those living in the same household.
• You are permitted to be outside your home only with peoplefrom one other household.

For more detailed information

German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community

https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/EN/topics/civil-protection/coronavirus/coronavirus-faqs.html#doc13797140bodyText3

Ordinance of the State of Baden Württemberg from 17.04.2020

https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/fileadmin/redaktion/dateien/PDF/Coronainfos/200417_CoronaVO_Konsolidierte_Fassung_englisch.pdf

Yes, all individuals living in Germany will be required to pass a two-weeks mandatory quarantine when they return to their residence in Germany after having been abroad. Persons entering from abroad must immediately report their whereabouts to the responsible local policeauthority at 31corona(at)mannheim.de and enter a 14-day quarantine.

Many non-German native speakers are facing quite a challenge to stay on top of the news concerning the development of the situation of the coronavirus in Germany. The translation agency lengoo curate a live blog in English for all people living in Germany. The information published on this site is translated from German and based on the live blog of the Tagesschau: https://www.lengoo.de/blog/tag/covid-19-live-blog/

You can find more current information in English here:

German Federal Foreign Office:

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/coronavirus

German Federal Ministry of Interior, Building and Community:

https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/EN/2020/03/corona-ein-und-ausreise-en.html

https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/EN/topics/civil-protection/coronavirus/coronavirus-faqs.html#doc13797140bodyText3

Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration

https://www.integrationsbeauftragte.de/ib-de/service/fragen-und-antworten/1731242-1731242?id=01-Intro-en

If you hold a German residence permit for the purpose of studying please keep the following in mind:

• Your residence permit becomes invalid six months after you have left Germany, even if it expires only at a later date. 
• Please note that if you intend to stay in Germany, you must apply for the following residence permit after successfully completing your studies (publication of the last grade in Portal2) in due time.
• Should you disenroll, your residence permit will expire automatically within 14 days after disenrollment.
• Make sure to keep an eye on the expiry date of your residence permit!

The Foreigners‘ Office in Mannheim does not offer any appointments at this time.

You may send your extension documents via mail (Ausländerbehörde, K 7, 68159 Mannheim) or E-mail (auslaenderbehoerde(at)mannheim.de) to the Foreigners’ Office. The Foreigners‘ Office will send you your extension via mail so please make sure that your address is correct and that your full name is visible on the mailbox.

Holders of a German residence permit or long-term visa whose home or legal residence is in Germany are allowed to enter Germany. Non-EU citizens who do not have a long-term right of residence are not allowed to enter Germany without an urgent reason.

If you are thinking about returning to Germany, please have a look at the current travel regulations and restrictions:

German Federal Foreign Office:

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/einreiseundaufenthalt/coronavirus

German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community:

https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/kurzmeldungen/EN/2020/03/corona-ein-und-ausreise-en.html

It is also recommended that you hold onto any plane tickets or other documents that document your travels to your home country and possible intended return (e.g. if your flight back to Germany was cancelled).

Teaching operations in the 2020 spring semester will remain exclusively digital. Consequently,digital teaching will continue until the end of this semester.

Despite all adversity, the university’s main goal remains to run all planned courses of the spring semester 2020, in particular those that are mandatory or mandatory electives, and to hold all examinations so that you can successfully complete the semester. Depending on the further developments, however, this might mean that not all exams can take place within the usual examination periods, the dates of which were already announced. It is possible that some exams may have to take place during the semester break or at the start of the fall semester 2020. Therefore, please be prepared for possible shifts in the examination schedule.

According to the university's current plans, most exams dates that have been scheduled and communicated to date can take place (on-campus and/or online). Individual examination processes that were halted are currently being reopened. The students affected will be contacted and informed by their professors, by the examination committee or the Student Services.

Oral examinations will take place as of May. As a rule, these examinations will be conducted with video conferencing tools. However, we are currently looking into the option of on-campus examinations with hygiene regulations being observed.

You can withdraw easily from examinations that you do not want to take, for example because you do not want an alternative form of examination like an oral exam via video conference. You need to make sure to withdraw prior to the beginning of the examination and indicate the coronavirus situation as the reason. You do not need further reasons and you do not need to attach any sort of proof.

The federal government as well as the Land of Baden-Württemberg and the university are working on solutions that do not put students at a disadvantage in light of the coronavirus situation due to missed deadlines in view of withdrawals from examinations. Please note that you need to have been registered for the exams of the spring semester 2020 in order for this to apply.

Please contact your advisor at the Student Services or at the Express Service in case you have any questions on these issues: www.uni-mannheim.de/en/academics/during-your-studies/student-services/

If you are looking for a job there are a few options, also for those who speak limited German:

• The local newspaper Mannheimer Morgen is looking for deliverers: http://www.pdk.de/Zusteller.html
• Due to the current situation supermarkets are looking for helpers – try asking directly at the ones close to your home.
• There are many jobs currently available in agriculture (harvest workers etc.). You can for example write an email to Erntehelfer-gesucht(at)pfalzmarkt.de stating your location and regional availability or have a look here (currently only in German): https://www.daslandhilft.de/.
• Furthermore E-Commerce companies are looking for workers to help out, try finding a logistics center close by.

If you are living in accommodations of the Studierendenwerk Mannheim and are facing financial difficulties due to Corona, please contact the Studierendenwerk directly: housing(at)stw-ma.de. Evidence that paying the rent is a financial burden must be provided.

If you are living in private accommodation we strongly advise you to contact the Tenants' Association (Mieterverein Mannheim) in your town or municipality. For international students who have rented accommodation on the private housing market special protection against the termination of rental agreements are in place. If tenants cannot or only partially pay their rent in the next three months as a result of the corona pandemic, the landlord cannot terminate their room/apartment due to late payment. Tenants have until the end of June 2022 to make up their rent payment and do not have to fear termination due to non or partial payment of the rents from April 2020 to June 2020.

Measures to support students during the corona pandemic

Corona-Fonds for students of the University of Mannheim: The University of Mannheim Foundation wants to support students of the University of Mannheim who are in financial difficulties, lost their part-time job or might not be able to continue their studies on account of a deteriorating financial situation due to the coronavirus crisis. You can apply until 31 May 2020. More information can be found here: https://www.uni-mannheim.de/corona-fonds-en/

BW Emergency Aid Fund: Baden-Württemberg has a student emergency aid fund for students who have lost their part-time jobs due to the corona pandemic and are thus in financial need. With the emergency aid fund, the state provides interest-free loans of up to 450 euros for the months of April and May - a total of up to 900 euros - for students in an emergency situation.  All enrolled students are eligible to apply, provided they can prove that an emergency situation has arisen due to the lack of additional income and do not receive other funding, such as scholarships.

Loan from the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW): From 01.06.2020, international degree seeking students can receive a KfW student loan temporarily at an interest rate of 0%. From April 1st, 2021, the regular interest rate will apply again, which is set for 6 months. You can receive the first payment on July 1st, 2020. The extension for international degree seekings students is limited until March 31, 2021. Here you can do a pre-check whether you meet the requirements for funding (currently only in German): Pre-check.

Applications for both loans can be submitted to the Studierendenwerk:Counseling Service Studierendenwerk Mannheim

In order to lessen the strain inflicted on families during this crisis, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs has announced to adapt the criteria for supplementary child allowance (Kinderzuschlag) for the period between April and September. Specifically, this means that the Ministry will no longer take the income of the last six months into account as it did previously, but only the income received in the past month. Applications can be submitted online. For more information have a look here (currently only in German): https://www.bmfsfj.de/kiz

To recharge your ecUM, you have to register for Autoload. Information about Autoload can be found on the Studierendenwerk's website. 

https://www.stw-ma.de/Essen+_+Trinken/Bezahlen_Autoload/Autoload.html.  During the current situation, you can only register for Autoload manually.

Please send the following information to autoload@stw-ma.de:

• Number of your ecUM card
• A photo of your debit card (both sides of your card with name and IBAN code)
•  A photo or a scan of your passpord/ID
• How much should be the minimum amount and the top up amount?

If you are moving within Germany you can currently register and deregister via email to the citizens' service offices.  

Please fill out and send the following forms as a scan to the citizens' service office (buergerdienste@mannheim.de):

• Registration Form (if you are moving to Mannheim from another municipality in Germany): https://www.mannheim.de/sites/default/files/page/73797/formular_anmeldung.pdf
• Registration Form (if you are moving within Mannheim): https://www.mannheim.de/sites/default/files/page/73797/ummeldung.pdf
• A scan of your passport/ID
• A scan of your Wohnungsgeberbestätigung (landlord's confirmation of residence)

If you are leaving Germany please de-register by sending the following documents via email to buergerdienste@mannheim.de:

• A scan of your passport/ID
• A scan of the filled out and signed “abmeldung” 

Unfortunately semester tickets cannot be refunded due to their already reduced price. Furthermore, there is no refund for semester tickets purchased online.

Here you will find digital offers of the International Office as well as external offers that might be interesting and useful to you: Digital Offers for internationale degree seeking students of the University of Mannheim

Next week we will start our Stay@HOME video contest (see attached)and would be happy to receive many videos from you! Detailed information will be sent to all our international degree seekings students via e-mail.

The University of Mannheim's Institute of Sports offers you the opportunity to stream various courses offered by the institute online in your living room: https://www.uni-mannheim.de/en/sports/program/

If you feel you need support and somone to talk to the psychologists at the Psychological Counseling Center of the Studierendenwerk Mannheim are offering telephone counseling: PBS Psych. Counseling Center

For all of us these times are very unusual and some of you may be confronted with new insecurities and challenges. In order to help you deal with some of the challenges you might be facing at the moment, we have compiled a few helpful links and ideas:
Tips and Help for International Students

10 Tips for Students in Times of Corona