The KU follows current developments closely and critically and has established a corona action committee that continuously monitors the situation and closely cooperates with the University Management to adopt appropriate measures. The committee is in constant contact with the relevant institutions and departments within the University and, if necessary, also with responsible authorities and the Ministry of Science. Instructions from the Ministry and authorities are being implemented without undue delay.

Lectures and seminars at University faculties throughout Bavaria will not begin until November 2 this year, about two weeks later than in other years. The lecture period lasts until February 26, 2021, but with a flexible period of 14 days – this means the degree programs and faculties have the option of ending their courses as early as on February 12.

At the Fachhochschule (FH) faculties, the lecture period start on October 15. Here, the lecture period lasts until February 5, 2021, with the possibility of shortening it to end at January 22, 2021.

For newly enrolled students, orientation weeks take place from October 21 to November 7. The first semester students are welcomed by the University Management on October 21 and introduced to their studies. Introductory events for newly enrolled students at the FH faculties will take place from October 1.

• Please ensure that you keep a minimum distance of 1.5 meters to other persons at all times.
• A face mask must be worn in all University buildings at all times! As soon as one of the two University locations exceeds the threshold incidence value of 35 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within one week (“corona traffic light” showing yellow or red), the obligation to wear a face mask covering mouth and nose shall apply with immediate effect for the entire KU campus in Eichstätt and Ingolstadt. This applies both to buildings and outdoor areas. In deviation from previous regulations, the face mask must in particular also be worn at the seat in seminar and meeting rooms as well as in lecture halls and reading rooms. This in particular applies to courses and examinations that are held on campus. The seats in the canteen or cafeteria shall be exempt from the general obligation to wear a face mask.

• In the offices, employees may take off their face mask at their desk, provided that it is ensured that the minimum distance to other persons can be maintained at all times or that appropriate protection is ensured by other measures. It is still recommended to wear face masks at all times.
• A maximum number of two persons is allowed at the same time in all sanitary facilities.
• Please observe the recommended hand hygiene, in particular before entering offices or seminar rooms.

For further regulations concerning University operations, please refer to the KU Hygiene Concept.

Students, employees and guests of the University, who show typical symptoms of the disease (high temperature, cough, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath) and who have visited or stayed in a risk area in the last 14 days or had contact with persons who were diagnosed with the coronavirus, are asked to call in sick immediately, stay at home and contact the on-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) or their GP. GP practices have precise instructions on how to deal with suspected cases of corona infections. They also ensure that the obligation to notify the German Health Office in accordance with the Infektionsschutzgesetz (German Protection against Infection Act) is fulfilled.

Irrespective of the type of virus, please ensure that you do not have close contact to other persons if you show symptoms of a cold. Please stay at home until your symptoms are fully cured and contact the on-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) or your GP by phone.

Sick persons with symptoms typical of a COVID-19 infection, persons with a confirmed COVID-19 infection as well as persons who have knowingly had contact with an infected person in the last 14 days are not allowed to stay on University premises. Confirmed cases of infection must be reported by the persons concerned to the KU Health Management Department (gesundheit(at)ku.de) immediately, unless this has already been done by the responsible Health Office.

Until further notice, KU buildings at its two locations will remain accessible only to members of the University. Exceptions to this rule are events that have been previously agreed upon, such as a job interview or KU services.

Seminars and lectures will generally be held in digital form. Exceptions are possible for individual practical seminars and exercises: Practical courses in laboratories and media laboratories, field practical courses as well as practical exercises in the subjects of music, art didactics and sports didactics may take place in face-to-face form, provided that all hygiene regulations are observed throughout. Examinations in presence form are also possible.

On the website of the KU Examinations Office , you will find a continuously updated information page on this subject area. The KU Hygiene Concept also contains detailed implementation regulations for on-campus examinations.

The KU has established a task force that deals with digital teaching and is led by KU Vice President for Studies and Teaching, Prof. Eham. The task force is in close collaboration with the respectively designated contact persons at all faculties. On the website on Digital teaching, you can access comprehensive information and offers that we have compiled for you with the support from our colleagues. Please pay particular attention to the link leading to a PDF guideline that gives an overview of possibilities and ways for offering courses via digital formats and provides information particularly technical and structural requirements.

It is possible to pick up ordered books at the Central Library or Branch Library in Ingolstadt ("Click and Collect"). After placing an order via the OPAC and making an appointment in advance, the books can be picked up at the circulation desk from Monday to Friday between 8:30 and 16:00. For more information, visit www.ku.de/bibliothek.

The IT service is only available by e-mail or via the website https://www.ku.de/rechenzentrum/it-support (create ticket).

The “Mensa” in Eichstätt will be offering take-away lunch on weekdays between 10:30 and 13:30 from next Monday. The canteen and cafeteria in Ingolstadt are currently closed.

The KU Printing Service is currently closed. There is an available printing station in the foyer of the Main Library and on the ground floor of Main Building KGA. These printing stations can be used as usual with the KU-Card.

The Jura Museum is closed for visitors .

The travel warnings of the Federal Foreign Office (https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/covid-19/2296762) also apply to stays abroad for study or internship purposes. The KU Presidium recommends that all students who are currently abroad for a study or internship stay familiarize themselves with the hygiene regulations in force in the host country, in the host region and at the host institution and to comply with them. If you have any questions, concerns or if you are thinking about retunring home to Germany, please contact your host institution as well as the KU International Office (for study stays abroad outgoing(at)ku.de, for internship stays praktika-international(at)ku.de). This especially applies to all students who are sponsored by Erasmus+.

Important note: If you are studying in a double degree program and/or the stay abroad is a required part of your studies, we strongly urge you to discuss your departure in detail with your program coordinators at the KU and the host institution, so that you can be sure that your course of studies is not jeopardized by your departure. In the current situation, a termination of your stay abroad does not automatically mean an interruption of your studies. This makes it all the more important to communicate directly with your responsible program coordinator. In case of lost credits, the examination boards will try to find a replacement.

KU students returning to Eichstätt/Ingolstadt from risk areas (https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html) are prohibited from coming to KU premises during the incubation period of 14 days after their return. This time will not be counted as unauthorized absence. You are asked to complete study workload and obligations from home to the extent possible.

Please contact the KU International Office (outgoing(at)ku.de) to discuss your individual case. We will find a solution together.

When assessing whether your stay abroad can take place as planned, the following points must be considered:

• The travel warnings of the German Foreign Office, which differ from country to country and may also change. Students should urgently and regularly check the information regarding their host country: https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/covid-19/2296762

• In addition, most countries have sometimes very strict entry restrictions in place.

• The partner universities in the various countries are reacting to the pandemic in different ways. While a few have already canceled their mobility programs for the upcoming winter semester, other universities offer online alternatives or are planning a 'normal' winter semester. The partner universities are also ultimately dependent on the political decisions in their country.

The International Office (IO) of the KU is in constant contact with the partner universities where you are planning your stay abroad. As soon as we receive more information about whether the host university can already make statements about the course of the winter semester, we will pass these on to you immediately.

At this point in time, we advise you not to make any financial advance payments (e.g. flight tickets, deposits, etc.).

Furthermore, we recommend that you keep yourself informed about existing exit and entry restrictions as well as quarantine regulations in your host country. The pages of the German Foreign Office are always a good starting point for this: www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/deutsche-auslandsvertretungen

We are well aware that this lack of planning security, which is not least due to the political decisions in most countries that are always made at very short notice, is very frustrating for you and creates a great deal of uncertainty.

If, in view of the above-mentioned points, you are thinking about canceling or postponing your studies abroad yourself, we ask you to contact the KU International Office immediately (outgoing(at)ku.de). If you have any questions or doubts about your planned internship abroad, please also contact the KU International Office (praktika-international(at)ku.de). In any case, we will try to find a solution together with you. You can also contact us at any time with any other questions you may have, such as questions concerning funding possibilities for your stay abroad (Erasmus+, PROMOS, KU IntAid, etc.).

However, especially in the case of required stays abroad or double degree programs, we urgently request that you discuss with your study program coordinators what effects a cancellation of your stay abroad will have on your further studies and what alternatives are possible.

The start of the lecture period has been postponed to November 2, 2020. Please note that there are different entry restrictions depending on your country of origin. Please consult the websites of the Federal Ministry of the Interior (https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/faqs/DE/themen/bevoelkerungsschutz/coronavirus/coronavirus-faqs.html#doc13738352bodyText3) and the German Federal Police (https://www.bundespolizei.de/Web/DE/04Aktuelles/01Meldungen/2020/03/200317_faq.html). Please contact the International Office at any time with any questions regarding the end of the winter semester. International exchange students please contact incoming(at)ku.de, international graduate students welcome(at)ku.de.

KU employees are supposed to work from their home offices in all sectors where tasks can be completed via teleworking.

• In view of the still existing risk of infection, KU employees are asked to carefully assess which business or research trips or professional development trips are absolutely necessary at this point in time. 

• Trips to countries for which the Foreign Office has issued a travel warning that is still in place are not authorized until further notice. Furthermore, colleagues who submit an application for approval of a business trip are asked to check whether they will be quarantined after crossing borders to certain countries. In this case, business trips will not be authorized.

• Before submitting an application for approval of a trip, KU employees are obliged to inform themselves of applicable hygiene provisions in the respective destination countries and for their journey to the destination without being explicitly requested to do so. In addition to submitting the usual application form for approval of a trip, the applicant must also submit a written confirmation that they have informed themselves of all corresponding regulations and provisions and that they are able to adhere to them.

• Persons entering the country from abroad are referred to the Bavarian regulation on quarantine measures for persons entering the country to fight the coronavirus (Einreise-Quarantäneverordnung, EQV) dated June 15, 2020. Anyone who has stayed in a risk area abroad for a business or vacation trip or for any other reason must go into home quarantine for a period of 14 days immediately after returning home – unless a corona test carried out no more than 48 hours before entering Germany confirms that there is no evidence of a corona infection (EQV Sections 1 and 2).

Please assess carefully for each individual case, whether it is also possible that your international guests visits the KU the KU in a following semester.

Persons who have stayed in a region, which is classified as corona risk area by the Robert Koch Institute, during the last 14 days are not allowed to enter the University buildings for 14 days after returning from the risk area in accordance with an order of the Ministry of Science. This shall apply if the visited region had already been classified as risk area during the affected person’s stay there or if it was classified as risk area within 14 days after the person’s return from that region. 

If the guests who are now unable to visit the KU are financed by means of the visiting professors’ program, the funding approval shall continue to be effective for the current calendar year. This means that the visit can be postponed to a later date. Please contact the KU International Office if you have any additional questions: welcome(at)ku.de

KU employees who have stayed in a region, which is classified as corona risk area by the Robert Koch Institute, during the last 14 days are not allowed to enter the University buildings for 14 days after returning from the risk area in accordance with an order of the Ministry of Science. This shall apply if the visited region had already been classified as risk area during the affected person’s stay there or if it was classified as risk area within 14 days after the person’s return from that region.

If employees are quarantined by order of the Health Office in Germany in accordance with Section 30 of the “Gesetz zur Verhütung und Bekämpfung von Infektionskrankheiten beim Menschen“ (Law on prevention and control of infectious diseases in humans, lfSG) and cannot come to work for this reason, they are asked to proceed as follows:

Public servants are released from work in accordance with Section 10 para. 1 sentence 2 “Bayerische Urlaubs- und Mutterschutzverordnung“ (Bavarian regulation on periods of leave and maternity protection, UrlMV) with a complete waiver of having to fulfill missed working time retroactively. The same shall apply for employees.

If you need to be released from work because you are quarantined, please contact your responsible officer at the HR Department by e-mail. You have the possibility to talk to your direct superior in order to discuss the possibility to carry out your work from home (home office, tele work). In this case as well, please contact your responsible officer at the HR Department for processing of the request.

Childcare

Employees who have to stay at home to care for their children because they are no longer allowed to attend childcare facilities or schools due to a possible infection with the coronavirus or because the childcare facilities or schools have been closed in part or in full are released from work for up to ten working days (one-time allowance for all children and per year) in accordance with Section 10 para. 1 sentence 2 of the “Bayerische Urlaubs- und Mutterschutzverordnung“ (Bavarian regulation on periods of leave and maternity protection, UrlMV) with a complete waiver of having to fulfill missed working time retroactively, if childcare cannot be guaranteed otherwise. In addition, it is of course also possible to use flexitime arrangements or vacation days for childcare.

If several children have to be looked after and they are not affected by a closure at the same time or if a closure should be repeated, then an additional leave of up to 10 working days is possible for these children.

Proof of closure of the respective childcare institution must be attached to the informal application for exemption, unless it is not generally known. Proof and medical certificates of illness of children can also be submitted subsequently if necessary. Teleworking has priority over the leave of absence. This means: As far as telework is possible in addition to childcare, it must be performed. In special exceptional cases, if work operations cannot be guaranteed in any other way, it is also permitted to take the child to the office.

There is no fixed age limit for this arrangement; the actual need for childcare is decisive.

Meanwhile, parents have the possibility again to organize childcare via the association Mobile Familie e.V. In this context, it is possible to have up to five children of KU employees looked after in a fixed group at jointly agreed times – depending on the needs of employees and provided that staff capacities at Mobile Familie e.V. are sufficient. If you think this might be relevant for you, please contact the Center for Marriage and Family in Society to have your situation assessed: corona-kinderbetreuung(at)ku.de

Close relatives requiring care

Teleworking or home office and subsidiary release from work (with continued payment of remuneration) are also granted to the extent applicable to parents if this is absolutely necessary for the care of a relative in need of care and if care cannot be provided otherwise. The need for care must be specifically stated and assessed. This applies especially if the relatives are not cared for at home.

Students, employees and guests of the University, who show typical symptoms of the disease (high temperature, cough, difficulty breathing and shortness of breath) and who have visited or stayed in a risk area in the last 14 days or had contact with persons who were diagnosed with the coronavirus, are asked to call in sick immediately, stay at home and contact the on-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) or their GP. GP practices have precise instructions on how to deal with suspected cases of corona infections. They also ensure that the obligation to notify the German Health Office in accordance with the Infektionsschutzgesetz (German Protection against Infection Act) is fulfilled.

Irrespective of the type of virus, please ensure that you do not have close contact to other persons if you show symptoms of a cold. Please stay at home until your symptoms are fully cured and contact the on-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst) or your GP by phone. Sick employees do not help themselves or others by showing up at work when ill.

Sick persons with symptoms typical of a COVID-19 infection, persons with a confirmed COVID-19 infection as well as persons who have knowingly had contact with an infected person in the last 14 days are not allowed to stay on University premises. Confirmed cases of infection must be reported by the persons concerned to the KU Health Management Department (gesundheit(at)ku.de) immediately, unless this has already been done by the responsible Health Office.

Contagious pathogens such as measles, polio, hepatitis B, influenza or the coronavirus are subject to the reporting obligation towards authorities in accordance with the Infektionsschutzgesetz (German Protection against Infection Act). If you are diagnosed with the coronavirus, your doctor is obliged to notify the responsible Health Office immediately. He or she also needs to report the patient’s personal data. The Health Office has extensive authority when it comes to introducing measures for fighting the disease – also regarding operational processes at the patient’s workplace. Doctors also have to report suspected cases of infection to the authorities.

If a KU employee or student is diagnosed with the coronavirus, he or she must stay away from the University. Employees must inform their superiors immediately by phone or e-mail. In addition, they also have to inform the HR Department without undue delay (krankmeldung(at)ku.de). In the interest of general safety, employees who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus are urgently requested to indicate this form of illness when reporting their illness to the HR Department. The HR Department is obliged to maintain secrecy.

Any further measures (closing buildings, quarantine measures, determination of contact persons) will be imposed by the respectively responsible office at the statutory Health Office depending on the current situation.

The KU strongly recommends that all students and employees resolve all issues that do not necessarily require personal contact by phone or e-mail to the extent possible. This will reduce personal contact to a minimum.

All University members are asked to take a responsible approach to the current situation and, in particular, adhere to the following hand hygiene measures:

• Keep distance to other people (1 to 2 meters) and avoid contact to people who are obviously ill.

• Avoid shaking hands.

• Ensure that you wash your hands regularly (at least 30 seconds, use soap).

• Adhere to the coughing and sneezing etiquette (sneeze into the bend of your elbow).

• Avoid contact to persons who suffer from respiratory diseases.

• Avoid large groups of people.

• Wash your hands properly before preparing and eating meals.

In general, the infectivity of corona viruses on inanimate surfaces decreases depending on material and environmental conditions. Initial investigations have shown that SARS-CoV-2 remains infectious for up to 6 hours on certain surfaces – but becomes inactive on paper and other porous materials after a much shorter time. In general, a longer infectivity of the virus can be assumed at low temperatures. It can also be assumed that the virus remains stable for a longer time in biological secretions (in case of contamination).

However, so far there is no evidence of transmission through surfaces in public areas.

The consistent observance of hand hygiene (washing hands, not touching the face) is still the most effective measure against the transmission of pathogens on or through surfaces.

Routine surface disinfection in public areas, including frequent contact surfaces, is not recommended even in the current COVID pandemic.

Here, appropriate cleaning (= mechanical removal of soiling with common household cleaning agents and water) is the method of choice.

Whether disinfection of certain surfaces outside health care facilities is necessary at all should be decided on a case-by-case basis based on the actual contamination of the surface. In this case, the focus should be on contamination through respiratory secretions and, if applicable, surfaces that were frequently touched with the hands of a person who was tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.

If disinfection is considered necessary in individual cases, it should generally be carried out as wipe disinfection. Spray disinfection, i.e. wetting of the surface without mechanical action, is less effective and is also questionable for occupational safety reasons, as disinfectants could be inhaled.

Source: Robert Koch Institute (October 2020)

• If you have any employment law questions that are not answered in this document, please contact your responsible officer at the HR Department.
• If you have any questions regarding examination matters, please contact your responsible officer at the KU Examinations Office.
• If you have any questions on health prevention and hygiene measures, please contact the KU Health Management: gesundheit(at)ku.de

Other useful telephone numbers (medical emergency service, Health Office...)

• Health Office (Gesundheitsamt) Ingolstadt: +49 841/ 3051461
• Health Office (Gesundheitsamt) Eichstätt: +49 8421/ 70 - 0
• Coronavirus hotline: +49 9131 6808-5101
• On-call service of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst): 116 117
• Hotline of the German Federal Ministry of Health: +49 800 / 011 77 22

• Traveling: The Robert Koch Institute keeps a current list of corona risk areas:  
  https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete.html
• The Robert Koch Institute also answers frequently asked questions in connection with the coronavirus: 
  https://www.rki.de/SharedDocs/FAQ/NCOV2019/FAQ_Liste.html
• Information provided by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts
  https://www.stmwk.bayern.de/allgemein/meldung/6461/informationen-fuer-hochschulen-und-kulturelle-einrichtungen.html