Coronavirus (Covid-19): current information for members of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences

The university management regularly informs students, lecturers and employees by email about the current situation and how to proceed.

November 2021

October 2021

September 2021

July 2021

June 2021

May 2021

April 2021

March 2021

February 2021

January 2021

December 2020

November 2020

October 2020

July 2020

June 2020

May 2020

April 2020

March 2020

It is required to wear a mask (medical mask or FFP2) inside all university buildings and rooms.

In all lecture rooms, students are required to wear a mask, regardless of the distance to the next seat. At warning level 2, a FFP2 mask must be worn.

Lecturers may remove their mask if they can ensure the minimum distance of 1.5m. Exemptions from the mask requirement are possible in art programs, if wearing the mask does not allow the artistic acitivity.

All further general hygiene rules concerning studies at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences can be found in the most recent version at: https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/fileadmin/News/Corona/Hygienekonzept_Lehrbetrieb_HS_Osnabrueck_WS_2021_22.pdf

Please inform yourself regularly.

www.hs-osnabrueck.de/de/elearning-competence-center/

Public events, specialist conferences and colloquia with external participants in attendance can take place during the winter semester 2021/22. When planning such event, please bear in mind taht the rate of infection may change suddenly.

Working meetings with external participants are allowed with up to 25 people in suitable rooms. Larger numbers of people are to be discussed with the Dean's Office. The minimum distances of 2.5 m or 6.5 m2 per person must be observed.

When moving around in all university buildings, a mask is required. This rule is to be seen in connection with and compliance with the existing general rule of at least 1.5 meters between people meeting each other. The following information:

• Wear mouth and nose protection in all situations where a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained, for example in the office or rooms where this is the case.
• It is not necessary to wear a face mask when moving around outside (cafeteria in front of the cafeteria, park in Haste, parking lots, etc.) if the distance rule is observed.
• It is also not necessary to wear mouth and nose protection in offices, taking into account the distance rule (1.5 m distance and 6.5 square meters).
• It is not necessary to wear mouth and nose protection during physical work on experimental areas and the like in the open air, taking into account the distance rule.
• Please also note the hygiene standards for a limited presence in the summer semester 2021.

• Always pay attention to the general information of the library that is updated promptly at www.bib.hs-osnabrueck.de/en/ and in particular the currently applicable usage regulations at www.bib.hs-osnabrueck.de/#c8958517 .

The canteen at the Westerberg and Lingen campus currently offer meals "to go" and "to stay" according to their opening hours.

Opening hours

• canteen Westerberg: Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
• canteen Lingen: Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• cafeteria Lingen: Monday to Friday from 07:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The Café Lounge Westerberg, the cafeteria in Haste as well as the Bistro Caprivi will remain closed until October 1, 2021. Any changes in operating hours will be communicated by Student Services on their website at least 2 weeks prior to the change at https://www.studentenwerk-osnabrueck.de

Some sports may be offered in presence again. You can find out about available courses and what may be possible also on short notice on their website Center for University Sports.

If you have technical questions, the staff at the ServiceDesk will help you.

As a general rule, the following applies: Participation in courses requires compliance with the 3G requirements (vaccinated, recovered, tested). In order to implement the 3G concept across the board, the university is setting up checkpoints at the entrances to the large seminar buildings at all major locations - Caprivi Campus, Campus Westerberg, Campus Haste and Campus Lingen. The exact locations are shown in the overview of the control points linked here.

Please make sure to always allow for extra time for admission before the start of the event.

There are two types of admission at each of these entrances (with the exception of the Lingen campus):

Admission 1 („Fast Lane“) - Students can use their university account to voluntarily scan a vaccination or recovery certificate using the Corona registration from Thursday, September 30, in order to upload a valid 3G status using an automated check. By showing a validation screen on your smartphone, you get quick access to the building. Detailed instructions on how to varify your status can be found here. The university offers people who do not want to scan the vaccination or recovery certificate or, in the event of technical problems, a manual check. Here is an overview where this will be possible. A positive 3G activation can only be obtained by those students who can provide a vaccination with a vaccine listed at the Paul Ehrlich Institute.

International students should contact the Center for International Mobility if they have any questions.

Admission 2: („Slow Lane“) - Tested, vaccinated and recovered people without status check in the App must submit sufficient proof.  The free offers of the so-called citizen tests in the test centers can be used up to and including October 10, 2021. From Monday, October 11, 2021, the university will set up a temporary offer for students to take supervised self-tests with the necessary certificate in order to be able to attend classes.

If the test result is negative, students receive a certificate that is valid for 24 hours and allows access to the buildings for participation in courses.

If the test result is positive, entry to the university buildings is prohibited and students must immediately go into self-isolation. A PCR test should also be carried out for clarification. In this case, the university is obliged to report the result to the responsible health department.

Test stations at the faculties

The following test stations are available for students:

Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Landscape Architecture

Building HF in the cafeteria of the Students' Center
Monday to Friday from 7.30 to 9.30 am

Faculty of Engineering and Computer Sciences

Building AA (enter from parking lot) in the Dean's Office
Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 10.00 am

Facutly of Management, Culture and Technology (Lingen)

Hall I/II Entrance South (parking lot)
Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 10.00 am

Faculty of Business Management and Social Sciences

Building CK, Foyer of Caprivi Lounge
Monday to Friday from 8.00 to 10.00 am

Institute for Music

Students of the Institute for Music are asked to use the test stations of the Faculty of Business Management and theFaculty of Engineering

Important: Please bring your campus card, your ID and an approved corona antigen self-test with you. In addition, bring a pen and the pre-filled form “Certificate of self-test for students”. If you have forgotten to take your self-test at home, the AStA  offers students to purchase a self-test during regular opening times.

Please be aware that in those university buildings without entry control, professors may check the 3G status at their own discretion. In the Institute of Music, the entry control takes place exclusively in the classrooms.

Current information on the examination period can be found on the OSCA intranet in the area of study and teaching.
In the FAQs on examination and matriculation matters, you will find information on theses, colloquia and options for withdrawing from examinations. If you have any further questions, please contact the Student Administration Office.

Campus Westerberg: AB building from Monday to Thursday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. and on Fridays between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. (Access is only possible via the main entrance on Albrechtstraße.)

The validation machine is also available in the central library on the Westerberg campus during the library's opening hours.

Campus Haste: HR building, Opening hours

Lingen campus: KH building (ground floor), access to the hall is only possible via the south entrance, opening hours

In light of the dynamically changing conditions for travel, residence and study abroad, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences advises students to organize their study plan in such a way that a stay abroad, originally planned for Winter Semester 2021/22, is postponed to a later semester. This recommendation applies in particular to destinations which are listed as international risk areas, high incidence areas or areas of variant of concern according to the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI – the public health institute in Germany).
When deciding for or against a stay abroad, please note the important information listed here (PDF in German).

Visiting Students:

In view of the current restrictions, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences recommends postponing a guest study visit to a later date. This advice applies in particular to travel from countries or regions that the Robert Koch Institute (the German Public Health Insitute) identifies as international risk areas.

Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences invites you to take part in individual online courses from your home country: Join the ‘Osnabrück Global Classoom’. 
If you would like to come to Osnabrück despite the likely restrictions, you are very welcome.

When making your decision, please note the important information about online teaching, semester times, entry and residence restrictions.

Degree-seeking students:

Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences warmly welcomes all international degree-seeking students to the coming winter semester, which will take place in a combination of online and face-to-face events. If you are unable to come to Germany at the beginning of the semester, please contact the Center for International Students at international@hs-osnabrueck.de

Please note the following information on:

Corona - Entry into Lower Saxony - Osnabrück and Lingen
Corona - Studying at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences  Winter Semester 2021/22
3 G information for international students – September 23, 2021
3 G information for international students – October 1, 2021
3 G information for international students – October 14, 2021
Corona - Rules of Conduct in Osnabrück and Lingen
Corona - Info Housing Service Winter Semester 2021/22

As of now and until March 19, 2022 the 3G status applies to all employees of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences

Proof of vaccination or recovery status (EU-COVID-19 vaccination certificate in paper form, vaccination card, etc.) must be documented in digital form with the university's own Corona registration (CoRe application) https://core.hs-osnabrueck.de/verification must be documented and thus verified. For employees who have not been vaccinated or who have not recovered, only the results of a negative antigen test under supervision (maximum 24 hours old) or a negative PCR test (maximum 48 hours old) are accepted as test evidence. No other evidence is permitted. All evidence can be scanned or uploaded to your CoRe registration as PDF or similar file formats.

Tests must be carried out under supervision, either in the dean's office or by confirmation from another employee of the university on a separate form. With the test confirmation, the dean's offices will activate the “Fast Lane” entry control for one week at a time. Please validate your vaccination or recovery certificates via the web application. You can find detailed instructions on how to save your status here.

In principle, work must be performed and service operations maintained during the period of the Corona crisis. Until further notice, the following detailed regulations apply from October 4, 2021 .

Employees can use the possibilities of working from home, but they can also work in the university's premises while respecting hygiene standards.

If you have any questions, please contact your HR administrator.

If employees and teachers have to ensure the care of their minor child due to the closure of a day-care center or school, no other care is guaranteed and measures such as domestic work are not feasible or appropriate, a time off work with continued payment of the remuneration in accordance with Section 29 Para. 3 TV-L granted. If you have any questions, please contact your HR administrator.

The Family Service in the Equal Opportunities Office continues to offer advice and exchange. Feel free to contact the equal opportunities office to describe specific challenges or to jointly design support options. To make an appointment for a telephone conversation, please first send an email to: Gleichstellung@hs-osnabrueck.de 

You can find more information on the reconciliation of work and responsibility in Corona times on the intranet.

The health department decides on whether or not you need to quarantine. As a rule, you will receive written documents for this purpose, which you should pass on to your HR department. In the event that you do not receive any documents, we would ask you to send a short e-mail to your HR department, which includes the period of quarantine and the responsible health department.

• If the quarantine goes without illness, please make use of the option to work from home. When handing in your hours to HR, please note the quarantine period; your planned working hours will be credited to you during this period.
• If the quarantine goes hand in hand with an illness, please submit a sick note, which can currently be requested from your doctor by telephone.
• In cases in which your supervisor has given you a ban on access to the university due to contact (in the sense of K1 of the RKI) with possible corona infected people, please report this to the HR department. For this period, your planned monthly working hours will be credited to you. If there is no illness, we ask you, if possible, to do your work from home. When reporting the time, please indicate the period of the entry ban.
• In case of self-determined voluntary isolation, please do your work from home. The times you reported will be credited to the time account.
• Planned vacation in quarantine and during the entry ban: In the event of a sick note, the corresponding vacation days will be credited back to you. Alternatively, you can work from home and postpone the vacation days after the quarantine. Please coordinate this with your supervisor and report the change to your HRdepartment. Of course, you can also simply take your vacation.​ 

Details on the intranet

The Federal Foreign Office warns against all unnecessary tourist trips abroad.

The travel warnings of the RKI or the Federal Foreign Office must be observed in this respect. Nonetheless, if employees of the university visit a country or area that is particularly affected according to the travel advice of the RKI and AA, they bear the sole risk (e.g. illness, quarantine on site, obstacles to return travel).

What should teachers and employees do who have been in a recognized risk area within the last 14 days?

Business trips should currently be reduced to the absolute minimum. Travel to risk areas is not recommended.

The eLearning Competence Center (eLCC) presents teachers with options and tools with which they can keep teaching online.

Platform for exchange among teachers
Numerous colleagues have already registered in the collaboration environment set up by the eLCC in “Microsoft Teams” for the exchange of experiences for all teachers. Feel free to use the HS_Dozierendenteam to exchange information about tools, tools and didactics.
Link to the team room: http://bit.ly/corona_solidargemeinschaft 
 
On the homepage of the eLCC you will find instructions on how to join this team room:
https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/fileadmin/HSOS/Homepages/eLCC/Teamraum_beitreten.pdf 
Instructions on how to use "Microsoft Teams":
https://www.hs-osnabrueck.de/fileadmin/HSOS/Homepages/eLCC/Anleitung_Microsoft_Teams.pdf 

Selection procedures can take place face-to-face considerung the hygiene rules. All information on the procedure can be found on the OSCA intranet.

The Learning Center offers you a page on the OSCA portal with materials for self-study aimed at teachers.

Current information on extending the processing time for theses, the form of theses and the implementation of colloquia in online format can be found on the website of the Student Administration Office.

Notes from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI):

• Contact the responsible health authority immediately
• 14 days of home quarantine with daily contact with the health department

A contact (someone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19)  who is at an increased risk of infection must immediately go into quarantine. Fully vaccinated people (with a vaccine recommended and approved by STIKO) and those who have recovered (PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection not older than 6 months) are excluded from the quarantine regulation.

According to the RKI, close contacts with an increased risk of infection are those to whom one of the following applies:

• Standing close to the person who tested positive (<1.5 m) for longer than 10 minutes without adequate protection (adequate protection = Covid case and contact person wear MNS [mouth and nose protection] or FFP2 mask continuously and correctly)
• Conversation with the person who tested positive (face-to-face contact, <1.5 m, regardless of the duration of the conversation) without adequate protection (see above) or direct contact (with respiratory secretion)
• Staying in the same room with a person who tested positive with a likely high concentration of infectious aerosols, regardless of the distance, for longer than 10 minutes, even if MNS (mouth and nose protection) or FFP2 mask was worn continuously and correctly

Please refer to the recommendations of the RKI for contact person tracking. Your local health care provider will familiarize you with the necessary steps once you have been identified as a contact person and will contact you.

Please contact your lecturers electronically in order to discuss any questions regarding your courses.

If you develop any symptoms, please follow the guidelines listed in the section "What should I do if I develop symptoms that indicate Corona or I have tested positive?"

A contact (someone who has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19)  who is at an increased risk of infection must immediately go into quarantine. Fully vaccinated people (with a vaccine recommended and approved by STIKO) and those who have recovered (PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection not older than 6 months) are excluded from the quarantine regulation.

According to the RKI, close contacts with an increased risk of infection are those to whom one of the following applies:

• Standing close to the person who tested positive (<1.5 m) for longer than 10 minutes without adequate protection (adequate protection = Covid case and contact person wear MNS [mouth and nose protection] or FFP2 mask continuously and correctly)
• Conversation with the person who tested positive (face-to-face contact, <1.5 m, regardless of the duration of the conversation) without adequate protection (see above) or direct contact (with respiratory secretion)
• Staying in the same room with a person who tested positive with a likely high concentration of infectious aerosols, regardless of the distance, for longer than 10 minutes, even if MNS (mouth and nose protection) or FFP2 mask was worn continuously and correctly

Please refer to the recommendations of the RKI for contact person tracking. Your local health care provider will familiarize you with the necessary steps once you have been identified as a contact person and will contact you.

If you have to quarantine, please use the extended working from home options and inform your supervisor. You can find information on work organization in the OSCA portal.

If you develop any symptoms, please follow the guidelines listed in the section "What should I do if I develop symptoms that indicate Corona or I have tested positive?"

If you have symptoms:

If you have developed symptoms that indicate a corona infection, phone your doctor immediately to clarify the suspicion and to discuss how to proceed. Outside your doctor's office hours, the emergency medical service can be reached at 116 117.

As long as your suspicion is neither confirmed nor refuted, please do not come to the university!

If an infection with Covid-19 is confirmed:

If you have a confirmed Covid-19 infection, please inform your local health department immediately! They will discuss all further qurantine steps with you. You are not allowed to enter the university until you have recovered and confirmed your recovery with a negative PCR test.

For face-to-face events with compulsory attendance, students should inform their lecturers about the quarantine order.

Employees should please use the extended working from home options. Information on work organization can be found in the OSCA portal.

Further information can also be found on the info page of the State of Lower Saxony: You should do this if you suspect a corona infection

The 10 most important hygiene tips from the Federal Center for Health Education provide a good overview to protect yourself from infectious diseases, such as: B. Regular and thorough hand washing, keep hands away from your face, sneeze in the crook of your arm or a handkerchief and keep your distance in the event of illness.

In view of the flu, these measures are advisable everywhere and at any time.

Robert Koch Institute (answers to frequently asked questions)
https://www.rki.de/SharedDocs/FAQ/NCOV2019/FAQ_Liste.html 

Federal Foreign Office (travel and security information)
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReisenUndSicherheit/reise-und-sicherheitshinweise/letzteaktualisierungen 

Federal Ministry of Health (topic page)
https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/coronavirus.html 

World Health Organization WHO (topic page)
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus 

Infektionsschutz.de: Prevent infections
https://www.infektionsschutz.de 

Federal Center for Health Education
https://www.bzga.de