Archive for June, 2021
Expansion of the Vaccination Offer
Due to current demand, it has been decided in consultation with the University Medical Center to extend the vaccination offer to all university members born before December 31, 1980. People in the age groups already invited to book an appointment will, of course, still be eligible to book.
The booking portal will be open for the new age group from Monday, June 14, 2021, 8 am. You still need your personnel number to book an appointment. If you do not know it, you can find it in the RWTH Selfservice under RWTH Data. In addition, the responsible HR department will be happy to help you.
The Crisis Management Team will inform you at short notice as soon as individuals of younger cohorts are eligible to book a vaccination appointment.
Important Information on Compulsory Testing for Courses and Exams
In light of the positive trend regarding the rates of infection, the testing requirement for courses and exam sessions will be dropped from Friday, June 11, 2021. Participation in internships and exams is thus no longer tied to a negative test or other exemptions. Also, the central study spaces can now be used without a negative test or other exemptions.
For excursions and internships, the supervising University institutions will continue to offer participants daily self-tests free of charge. This self-test provision also continues to apply for employees.
The Crisis Management Team kindly requests that you make good use of these offers.
Expansion of the Age Group Eligible for a Vaccine Appointment
Due to current demand, it has been decided in consultation with the University Medical Center to extend the vaccination offer to all university members born before December 31, 1970. People in the first age group will, of course, still be eligible to book.
The booking portal, which you can find under this link, will be open for the new age group from Tuesday, June 8, 2021, 12 noon. A personnel number is required to book an appointment. If this is not known, it can be found in the RWTH Selfservice under RWTH Data. In addition, the responsible HR department will be happy to help.
The Crisis Management Team will issue an announcement at short notice as soon as individuals of younger cohorts are eligible to book a vaccination appointment.
Notes on Excursions and Study Spaces
The Crisis Management Team and the Rectorate have decided on the following measures based on the new state regulations and the decline in the rate of infection in Städteregion Aachen:
- Excursions can now be carried out while observing the measures outlined in the corresponding guidelines.
- The central study spaces (operated by the University Library or the Central University Administration) will be successively opened from now on. You can find the currently available study spaces here: https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Studium/Im-Studium/Praktisch-im-Alltag/~brok/Lernraeume/?showall=1. Like last year, workstations must be booked online in advance.
Please note that to comply with state law, individuals may currently only participate in excursions that include activities indoors or use study spaces if they can present a current negative test.
Vaccination Service Starts June 8
The University Medical Center will start to offer vaccinations using mRNA-based vaccines on June 8. Further information about the vaccination service and answers to general questions about COVID-19 vaccination are available at: FAQ About Vaccinations.
Given the amount of vaccine doses expected to be available, all university members born before December 31, 1960 (61-year-old and older individuals) are now eligible to book a vaccination appointment.
The online portal for booking vaccination appointments will be open for bookings from 12 noon on Friday, June 7, 2021. Please note that you will have to provide your personnel number when booking an appointment. If you do not know your personnel number, you can find it on the RWTH Selfservice Portal (see “RWTH Data” tab, “RWTH employee number”). Alternatively, the relevant divisions of the HR Department are happy to help.
We expect that the booking portal will be accessed by a large number of users, especially at the beginning of the vaccination service. This will result in a large load on the associated infrastructure. For this reason, the Crisis Management Team would urgently ask you to visit the booking portal only if you belong to the group of individuals who are currently eligible to book an appointment.
The Crisis Management Team will notify you as soon as other age cohorts become eligible to book a vaccination appointment.
Information on Mandatory Testing for In-Person Courses and Exams in Closed Venues
According to the new Corona Protection Ordinance, as of Monday, June 7, in-person exams may only be taken on presentation of a negative COVID-19 test result, proof of being fully vaccinated, or proof of having recovered from infection. Test certificates must be no older than than 48 hours. For this reason, starting June 7, participation in lab courses is only possible for those meeting the above requirements.
It is sufficient to present the result of a citizens’ test (“Bürgertest”) or carry out a self-test on site. Self-tests are currently offered on a daily basis. Please note that the self-test procedure must be supervised according to the instructions already made available. Since lab course activities are completed in fixed learning groups, i.e. group members stay the same throughout the course, the test must be taken at the beginning of the week – or at the start of the course – and then again every third day.
It is mandatory for each lab course participant, including the instructor(s), to meet the testing obligation. It is currently not necessary to document each individual test result. However, it is recommended that the date and time and the number of tests/test certificates examined be appropriately documented.
The Corona Protection Ordinance also mandates a testing requirement for all in-person courses. However, since currently no in-person courses are being held, this obligation is not relevant at this time.
The Dean’s Office of the Faculty of Medicine is responsible for implementing the regulations for the Medicine and Dentistry degree programs.
The federal state government has announced that it will issue more specific regulations in due course. The Crisis Management Team will keep you updated on new developments.
Coronavirus Regulations Now Defined by “Incidence Levels”
If the 7-day rate of infection (i.e. the number of new infections in the past seven days per 100,000 inhabitants) is above 100 – this is currently the case in one city in NRW –, the regulations of the so-called “nationwide emergency brake” continue to stay in effect. When there is a stable rate of infection in a district or independent city between 50.1 and 100, several restrictions may already be lifted. According to the revised Coronavirus Protection Ordinance, infection rates between 50.1 and 100 now correspond to what has been termed “Incidence Level 3.” Rates between 35.1 to 50 correspond to Incidence Level 2, and rates of 35 or lower define Incidence Level 1. These new levels apply at the level of districts or independent cities.
If in a district or independent city the upper limit of an incidence level is exceeded on three consecutive days, the next higher level will apply and the corresponding regulations take effect two days later. A district or independent city will be assigned to a lower incidence level it the infection rate falls below the lower limit on five consecutive workdays. The regulations of the lower level will take effect two days later.
At all three incidence levels, the easing of restrictions is combined with safety measures to protect from an undetected surge in infections. Individuals who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and those who have recovered from the virus, will be treated the same as individuals who have tested negative. For gatherings and events, there are limits defining how many individuals are allowed to meet. Those who are fully vaccinated, recovered, or negatively tested do not count towards this limit. However, they still have to comply with protective measures, such as the obligation to wear masks.
Further information in German is available at: Pressemitteilung des Landes NRW
RWTH Website
The RWTH website on How to Deal With the Coronavirus Crisis will now provide information on the current Incidence Level of the City of Aachen and of the Städteregion instead of publishing the 7-day rate of infection.