Corona-News

With the amended Infection Protection Act going into effect in Germany, the  federal “emergency brake” also applies to North Rhine-Westphalia.

In primary and secondary schools, face-to-face instruction is thus prohibited if the seven-day incidence rate in a county or independent city exceeds the threshold of 165 on three consecutive days. Exceptions are possible for graduating classes and special education schools. You can find the most current information on school operations, albeit in German, on the  Ministry of Education website.

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The Corona-Warn-App has been expanded to include a feature for generating QR codes (event registration). The Crisis Management Team recommends that all members use this new function, especially for lab courses, laboratories, workshops etc. In this way, possible infection chains can once again be traced but at an increased, and, above all, faster, rate.

The Corona-Warn-App is an app published by the Robert Koch Institute that helps to trace and interrupt infection chains of SARS-CoV-2 (which can cause COVID-19) in Germany. The app is based on technologies with a decentralized approach and notifies people if they have been exposed to an infected person. The German Ministry of Health Office explicitly recommends the use of the app.

A QR code could be generated for the above-mentioned events or locations, which all participants and employees would scan upon entry. In this way, in the event of a positive test of a participating person or an employee, immediate and direct information can go out to everyone.

Information on event registrations via Corona-Warn-App as well as the option to generate a QR code directly can be found here.

Based on the current regulations due to the federal “emergency brake”, the RWTH Rectorate and the Crisis Management Team have decided on the following measures:

Studies and Teaching

• Courses and exam sessions will continue to be held in the previously established formats. Excursions can still not take place.
• From now on, all students and employees attending lab courses at RWTH must be offered a self-test for each day they are on site. The necessary tests can be ordered free of charge from the RWTH Purchasing Portal. The AStA Students’ Committee, the Crisis Management Team, and the Rectorate strongly urge all members to consistently make use of this offer every single day they are on site at RWTH.
• The Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Medicine continues to regulate the formats in the Medicine and Dentistry degree programs.

University Operations

• The work-from-home arrangements already in place will be extended through June 30, 2021.
• If employees have to perform essential work on site at RWTH during curfew, a corresponding form is available for download in the Forms Database. Please have this form signed by the head of the respective university institution or their deputy. Please note that a certificate will generally not be necessary as far as we currently know, but an adequate declaration will suffice.
• Please refer to the Family Services Center or the relevant personnel department for advice if you have any questions about childcare.

You will be notified of any new information as soon as possible once it is available.

From now on you can book the required number of free self-tests for up to three weeks in the RWTH Purchasing Portal in just one order. This was announced by University Management and the RWTH Crisis Management Team.

The self-tests can be explicitly offered to students who are required to be on site at RWTH for a lab course or to work on their thesis. The same conditions apply as for employees (one test if on site up to two days per week; two tests if on site more than two days per week).

When placing your order, please enter the purpose and the time period for the ordered items in the comments section. Please also note that this test provision may not lead to an increased number of members on site at RWTH. The University would like to emphasize that – in the interest of infection prevention and control – it is still exclusively offering tests to members only when they are required to be on site.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is planning to provide self-administered COVID-19 tests for employees who come to work on campus at RWTH. As the test kits are packaged in units of 20, these tests can only be effectively used on-site at RWTH. Therefore, the RWTH Rectorate and Crisis Management Team are asking University institutions to create appropriate testing facilities in suitable rooms. Further information on the requirements and the test procedure can be found in German under this link.

All employees who come to work on campus must be offered one test per week for up to two days of in-person work and two tests for more than two days of in-person work. Individuals authorized to place orders can now order the tests free of charge from the RWTH Purchasing Portal for their University institution. Please note that only one week’s supply can be ordered and delivered at a time for logistical reasons. If institutions wish to team up with other institutions to avoid small order quantities or use shared test rooms, joint ordering is possible. Such requests must then be indicated in the comment field provided for this purpose.

The Rectorate and the Crisis Management Team ask you to observe the following instructions:

• It is still possible for University institutions to purchase self-tests in individual packaging from the RWTH Purchasing Portal to meet additional demand or for special purposes.
• The regulations regarding employees taking a free rapid COVID-19 test (“Citizens’ Test”) during working hours continue to apply.
• The testing service for cross-border commuters from the Netherlands, offered at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, will be extended to commuters from Belgium until further notice. This is due to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia’s decision to no longer offer free Citizens’ Tests for this group.

The Rectorate and the Crisis Management Team urge you to make active use of the testing opportunities provided. The purpose of the tests is to detect asymptomatic COVID-19 infections. The aim is to make the current on-campus activity safer and should not lead to increased in-person work at RWTH.

Families in Aachen will have their parental contributions for children attending day-care centers (KiTas), preschools, childcare facilities, or the optional afternoon elementary school (OGS) in the city waived for the entire year 2021. You can find more information here.

Together with Studierendenwerk Aachen, RWTH’s AStA launched the Free Meal Project in summer semester 2020 to support students, particularly those with financial problems, during the current crisis. The initiative is intended for those who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and are worried about how they will finance their food costs. The special offer will now be extended to the 2021 summer semester. More information is available at https://www.asta.rwth-aachen.de/projekte/freitisch/

As of April 12, 2021, RWTHmoodle is only available for teaching purposes, according to the RWTH IT Center. From now on, take-home exams will be conducted exclusively on the additional temporary Moodle site temp-Moodle. The aim of this is to ensure that teaching for summer semester 2021 and the outstanding exams for winter semester 2020/21 can all run smoothly. The temp-Moodle platform is now available for this purpose.

The RWTH Rectorate and the Crisis Management Team have announced that RWTH has now set up a testing service for cross-border commuters from the Netherlands, who can take the coronavirus self-test required by federal and state law with help and supervision from medical professionals. The University Medical Center offers this testing service Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. in lecture hall 4 at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Pauwelsstrasse 30.

If you would like to use this service, please note the following general conditions:

• The testing service is aimed exclusively at RWTH employees and students who live in the Netherlands and currently have to travel to be at RWTH in person (to work at the office or lab, or complete an internship, etc.). All other employees and students are asked to continue to take advantage of the available testing options, such as the free rapid COVID-19 test (“Citizens’ Test”) or the coronavirus self-tests that can be carried out at home.
• Access to the University Hospital is currently restricted. When planning to use the testing service, you must, therefore, carry the commuter certificate issued by your respective human resource department or a current RWTH student ID (not the Bluecard) with you. You must also be able to present an additional form of ID that shows your place of residence.
• Please note that the certificate the University Medical Center issues after you take the test only serves to allow you to cross the border to and from the Netherlands. This test, or the resulting certificate, is not equivalent to a so-called citizens’ test, which allows you to shop at certain retail stores, for example.

The University Medical Center can be reached at anmeldung@hsa.rwth-aachen.de if you have any question regarding the testing service. For further information, please refer to the FAQs on COVID-19 tests.

The RKI has designated the Netherlands an area of particularly high risk of coronavirus infection due to a high number of cases in the country. The Federal State of North-Rhine Westphalia has issued the following statement:

When travelling to Germany from the Netherlands, you must be able to provide documentation of a recent negative coronavirus test result. The test must have been taken within 48 hours prior to entering Germany. PCR tests and PoC rapid tests from a medically authorized service provider, and self-tests supervised by specialist personnel, are accepted. Proof of this test may be presented in paper or digital format.

There are exceptions for cross-border commuters who travel to Germany from the Netherlands to work or study:

You must be in possession of evidence of a negative coronavirus test result. The test must have been taken within 72 hours prior to entering Germany.

Alternatively, you can take a COVID-19 test immediately after crossing the border, i.e. at a coronavirus test center or upon arrival at your workplace/at the University (taking a supervised self-test is permitted).

For information on COVID-19 test centers, please visit the Testen in Aachen website.

RWTH has now set up a testing service for cross-border commuters from the Netherlands, who can take the coronavirus self-test required by federal and state law with help and supervision from medical professionals.

Employees can obtain a certificate of employment from the relevant HR department. Students can obtain a certificate of enrollment from the Registrar’s Office.

Further information:

• Coronavirus: Current Information for Travellers by the Federal Ministry of Health