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COVID-19/Corona virus: University of Wuppertal postpones start of the semester to April 20, 2020

17.03.2020|18:30 Uhr

Announcement dated 16. March 2020

The university management of the University of Wuppertal decided on 16 March to take the following measures:

Teaching and events

  • From tomorrow 17.03. until 19.4.no more events may take place at the University of Wuppertal. This does not only apply to regular teaching, but also to preliminary courses, further education and sports activities as well as events with external guests (lectures, conferences, etc.). The faculties will soon provide information about online offers to be set up instead, which will increasingly enable "distance learning". Teachers will be supported centrally in the digital implementation of materials for classroom teaching (an information letter from the Vice Rector for Studies and Teaching will follow).

Exams

  • Also, all on-site test dates are cancelled with effect from tomorrow 17.3. In due course, the respective examinations will either be made up or replaced by suitable alternative formats (information will follow later). The faculties are asked to extend the deadlines for final papers and term papers if necessary. For hardship cases, especially for "last" oral examinations with which the degree can be achieved, the responsible offices of the faculties are responsible, in the case of state examinations the state examination offices. For very special cases which are not covered by these responsibilities and which require individual regulation, a special advisory office is set up (contact: pruefungen-corona[at]uni-wuppertal.de).

Service facilities

  • The services offered by the service facilities are now only available to a limited extent: The library will be closed from tomorrow 17.3. and can only be accessed online. The canteen will be closed from 18.3. For employees who cannot work from home due to the circumstances of their job, two or three cafeterias will remain open (information on this will be available soon on the homepage of the Hochschulsozialwerk). All other advisory services will be available exclusively by telephone and/or online from 17.3. Please refer to the respective homepages for times and contact details.

Home Office

  • With regard to staff members, their superiors are asked to allow their staff members to do so wherever work can be done from home. Intra-university meetings are to be reduced to the bare essentials or replaced by formats that do not require personal attendance (including, for example, circular resolutions), in compliance with all precautionary rules already communicated. More detailed regulations on home office work will be communicated by home notice tomorrow, March 17th. You will find the link to the house notice here.

Suspected cases

  • Wherever there are suspected cases of coronavirus infection, the public health department must be informed immediately. In addition, the university administration also asks for the relevant information in order to find out further "contact persons" as quickly as possible. Experience has shown that the municipal health authorities currently react with a delay due to congestion. Students should report suspected infections at: stud-corona[at]uni-wuppertal.de; staff members can use the e-mail address: infodez41[at]uni-wuppertal.de.

This letter is currently being sent by e-mail to all students and staff (as of 16.03., 9 pm):

Letter from the President and the Chancellor to the members of the University dated 16 March.

Announcement dated 14. March 2020

The city of Wuppertal has once again significantly tightened the epidemic-related rules for public and private events, which were only issued yesterday, on this Saturday. According to these rules, only "unavoidable public events" may take place after next Tuesday 0:00 am. The wording of the decree can be found here.

Even though it remains unclear whether university examinations are covered by this definition, the university management has just decided, for reasons of welfare, to join the rules that apply to public events and to postpone all examinations taking place from Tuesday until further notice. Written examinations scheduled for Monday with a number of participants of less than 100 (waived up to and including Monday) may take place, but candidates are free to take part. Those who do not take part in the examination will not suffer any disadvantages.

In addition, all events at the university with public participation (conferences, lectures, etc.) will be cancelled.

On Monday, the university's crisis management team will discuss what further consequences should be drawn from the changed situation.

Announcement dated 13. March 2020

By decree of today, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia has re-set the start of the lecture period of the 2020 summer semester for universities, universities of applied sciences and art colleges as 20 April 2020. The background to the regulation is the increased spread of the coronavirus. The end of the lecture period on 17 July 2020 will not change.

The universities are authorised to hold "digital events and smaller attendance events, in which the circle of participants can be traced," before the newly established start of the lecture period.

The President of the University of Wuppertal and Chairman of the Rectors' Conference of the Universities of North Rhine-Westphalia, Professor Lambert T. Koch, is satisfied with the jointly found solution. The situation is difficult overall and further developments are difficult to predict. "It is therefore all the more important that the universities and other higher education institutions in the state now have clear indications for their planning.“ According to Professor Koch, it is also crucial that the state's universities, universities of applied sciences and art colleges make a constructive contribution to slowing down the spread of the coronavirus in order to relieve the capacities of the health system.

Like other universities in the state, the University of Wuppertal will now be intensively examining in the coming days how and to what extent it will make use of the possibility of holding digital events and smaller face-to-face meetings even before 20 April 2020.

It is already certain, however, that the University of Wuppertal's general university sports programme will be completely suspended until 23 April. With regard to other services, such as the Central Student Advisory Service, the university management asks you to refer to the respective homepage for possibly restricted opening hours.

Other events as well as examinations may take place until further notice, as long as they are compatible with the "General Decree of the City of Wuppertal on the Holding of Public and Private Events" published today, Friday.

In addition, the university management asks for your understanding that some questions arising from the new official regulations can only be answered gradually. Since the situation is currently changing almost hourly and those responsible, for example in the local health authorities, are working at the limit of their capacity, all those involved must show a great deal of mutual understanding.

Announcement dated 11. March 2020

Dear Sirs, dear members of the University of Wuppertal,

here you will find updated information on coronavirus/COVID-19 and the corresponding conclusions for the University of Wuppertal. The university management has formed a crisis team which, under the direction of the President, assesses the changing situation and develops appropriate recommendations/measures.

Questions and answers

The following notes are supplemented according to the situation.

Measures and recommendations

Please note - for your own and your fellow human beings' protection against infection - that general and special hygiene measures are currently being increasingly applied. Here are some selected rules at a glance:

  • It is best to turn away if you have to cough or sneeze! Keep at least 1.5 metres distance between yourself and other people.
  • Please use a paper tissue only once! Then dispose of it in a bin with a lid.
  • When coughing or sneezing, keep the crook of your arm in front of your mouth and nose when no tissue is available.
  • Important: Wash your hands thoroughly after cleaning your nose, sneezing or coughing.
  • Please also wash your hands thoroughly several times a day.

Source: WHO, Ministry of Health
Detailed tips can also be found under:
https://www.infektionsschutz.de/hygienetipps.html


Further general information

Here you will find a list of links to the most important general information.

Announcement dated 28. February 2020

Coronavirus: Confirmed suspected case of a female examinee at the University of Wuppertal

Today, the University of Wuppertal was informed by the public health department of the city of Wuppertal that a suspected case of coronavirus has been confirmed among the students of the university. The person concerned does not live in Wuppertal and has stayed in Wuppertal during the semester break for a written exam*. As provided for by the state government for such cases, all resulting steps for the protection of directly affected persons as well as other members of the University of Wuppertal are taken in close coordination with the responsible health authority.

Members of the University who have been in direct contact with the infected person since the presumed time of infection will be informed directly by the public health department as to what further steps are necessary. In addition, the university management, in coordination with the authority, will immediately inform if further preventive measures are necessary to protect the employees and students of the University of Wuppertal.

Lambert T. Koch, President & Roland Kischkel, Chancellor

Contact:
Anna Bruns
Personal assistant to the President
Phone 0202/439-5005
E-mail abruns[at]uni-wuppertal.de

Jasmine Ait-Djoudi
Head of University Communication
Phone 0202/439-5271
E-mail ait-djoudi[at]uni-wuppertal.de

* This is an exam of the chair of work and organizational psychology. It was written on 17.02. in the university hall.

Addendum: The student was in quarantine as a precaution. The quarantine ended on Monday, March 2. No infections were found among the possible contact persons of the student. (Status: 29.02., 1 pm)


Announcement dated 26. February 2020

COVID-19/Corona virus: Extended risk areas - measures and recommendations of the Universität of Wuppertal (BUW)

On the occasion of the further spread of the COVID-19/Corona virus, the Rectorate of the University of Wuppertal draws attention to updated measures and information for protection. The Rectorate is guided by the latest information provided by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which is naming new risk areas in China, Iran, Northern Italy and South Korea after the Chinese province of Hubei. Detailed information on the individual regions can be found here. The risk areas may expand in the coming days if necessary.

Information for employees and students who have returned from China (Hubei Province) since January 1, 2020 and are now currently living in the above-mentioned risk areas or who have or have had close contact with people from the above-mentioned regions can be found here.

The rectorate of the University of Wuppertal has taken measures to protect their relatives and guests and continues to offer support: For example, business trips to the affected Chinese province of Hubei cannot be approved until further notice for reasons of employer welfare. This regulation will be extended to business trips to the risk areas specified by the RKI. You can find information on trips that have already been booked in the current newsletter No. 16.

Please inform yourself about the respective regulations on a daily basis. The occupational medicine service of the University of Wuppertal is available to answer any questions. Students who have family members in the region who may have fallen ill can contact the student advisory service of the University of Wuppertal.

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