Information on the Coronavirus for Students

A summary of all entry and travel restrictions can be found here: www.zusammengegencorona.de/informieren/alltag-und-reisen/reisen/

The website provides information on:

• obligation to undergo COVID testing when entering the country
• designation of risk areas/high-risk areas
• digital registration on entry
• exemptions for vaccinated travellers

Before arrival, please read the latest information on the current classification of the area from which you enter. The latest classification is available on the webpage of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI)

Please note that your vaccination certificate will only be accepted if you have been fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved in the EU. The officially approved vaccines are listed on the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) website.

It is expected that no trips to countries outside Germany will be undertaken if the Federal Government has classified the country as a high-risk area and it is not urgently necessary.

If you have questions, please contact International(at)hs-gm.de.

Information about federal regulations on mandatory Corona tests for people entering the country::
https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/service/gesetze-und-verordnungen/guv-19-lp/coronaeinreisev.html

Federal government information for travelers and commuters:
https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/themen/coronavirus/faq-reisen-1735032

The current German Foreign Office travel warnings:
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/ReiseUndSicherheit/reise-und-sicherheitshinweise

Important information provided by the Robert Koch Institute and recommended action for people entering Germany:
https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Transport/BMG_Merkblatt_Reisende_Tab.html

Information on the designation of international risk areas by the Federal Foreign Office, BMG and BMI
https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html

As of November 24, 2021 all staff members working at Hochschule Geisenheim University (or other organizations and companies) must provide proof of their 3G status (vaccinated, recovered, tested negative), which must be checked and documented pursuant to Section 28 b Infection Protection Act.

The heads of departments are responsible for verifying the 3G status of their staff members.

Checking the 3G status will require some extra work at first. However, vaccination or recovery certificates must only be verified and documented once. Test certificates must be checked daily. Occupational Health and Safety is entitled to check the proper documentation.

Tests must be carried out before starting to work and do NOT count as working time. Self-tests are also accepted if they are performed at the workplace and under supervision. The result must be documented. The university provides two self-testing kits per person per week. Additional tests must be purchased by the employee or must be performed by official testing centers. Results of self-tests that have been performed without supervision are not accepted.

Supervisors who are neither vaccinated nor recovered must also perform a daily self-test under supervision, or present proof of a negative test result carried out by an official testing center.

In the University Presidents’ Meeting on November 19, 2021, the Hessian Ministry of Science and the Arts emphasized that individuals who are unwilling to perform a test violate their official duties will have to face consequences under civil service law.

Vaccinated and recovered staff members are advised to perform regular tests (by means of the provided self-testing kits). The results of these voluntary tests must not be documented.

If the test result is unclear, please repeat the test.

Students (and visitors/ guests) can access university premises only with a valid 3G certificate. They are required to carry one of the following documents if they enter a campus building or facility:

• Digital proof of vaccination or vaccination certificate confirming that the person is fully vaccinated with a vaccine approved in the EU (BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson& Johnson) and that at least 14 days have passed since the final dose
• Digital or written proof that the person has recovered from COVID 19 no longer than 6 month ago.
• Negative test result (PCR or antigen test), carried out by an authorized test center. Antigen tests are valid for 24 hours, PCR tests are valid for 48 hours. Approved tests are carried out by doctors, pharmacies or test centers: https://www.corona-test-hessen.de/

Proof of your 3G status must be carried at all times when entering a building or campus facility, and has to be presented to staff members, teachers or security staff upon request. If students cannot present the required proof, they have to leave the premises immediately. The university also reserves the right to take further steps.

1. In teaching areas on the campus, contact data will be collected in classes, exams, and other study-related events such as admissions events as well as when using work stations in libraries, or using practical, PC and learning rooms. At events over several days, contact details will be collected each day. Collecting contact data is mandatory and a prerequisite for participation in classroom events and the use of the above-mentioned facilities. The name, address and telephone number of the participants as well as the title of the event will be recorded for the sole purpose of enabling the tracking of infections. The contact data is recorded using an electronic system (www.luca-app.de/) or form. For data protection reasons, one form per person must be filled out and submitted to the organizer. The contact data collection forms will be kept by the organizer until the deadline expires. The data is to be kept for the duration of one month from the beginning of the event, protected from third-party access by the responsible health or public order office, and is to be transmitted to them on request or deleted or destroyed securely and in accordance with data protection regulations immediately after the deadline has expired.

Students: If you do not have a smartphone or have forgotten it and you can therefore not use the luca app, your fellow students can also submit your contact data (as a guest entry). In addition, it is also possible to submit contact data in paper form. Contact forms are available in all teaching rooms.

Lecturers: Please do not forget to register yourself. The forms available in the lecture halls and seminar rooms are to be handed out to students who were unable to register by smartphone. After the end of the event, the forms are to be collected in DIN A5 envelopes (with the date, place and name of the event written on it), which are also available in the room, and sent by in-house mail to P3 - Event Management; in addition, marked mailboxes will be hung up on campus. Any questions regarding QR codes and paper forms should be directed to veranstaltungen(at)hs-gm.de or the Info Point (tel. -100)

Guests and External Visitors: For persons who do not have a smartphone or have forgotten it, contact data can also be collected online by other guests (guest list) or by using paper forms. Contact forms are provided in all lecture halls and seminar rooms.

In buildings and also on campus, it is important to ensure that people have as little direct contact with each other as possible or that their contact is reduced to a minimum. Contact in rooms of the university, during breaks or other activities is to be kept to a minimum. Physical contact, such as shaking hands is to be avoided.

In the case of unavoidable direct contact, additional protection must be ensured! At consultation and information areas with personal contact, where the safety distance of at least 1.5 meters cannot be maintained, protective screens are provided.  Where such screens are not available and the minimum distance cannot be maintained, mouth-nose coverings must be worn.

At all times a minimum distance of at least 1.5 meters ("safety distance") must be maintained from other people in all directions, including on entry, when sitting and moving about. Where this is not possible, alternative protective measures (e.g. mouth-nose coverings) must be observed. The safety distance must be maintained in all university owned and rented buildings, parts of buildings and on the entire campus of Hochschule Geisenheim University!  Measures such as barriers, markings or access regulations are to ensure that the distance is maintained. All members of the university, users and guests are obligated to observe the measures for maintaining the safety distance. The safety distance must also be maintained when entering and leaving buildings and rooms and in queues. Group formations in buildings and on the premises are to be avoided.

Covering your mouth and nose is mandatory in all buildings of Hochschule Geisenheim University (also in all 'traffic' areas and in lecture halls). Traffic areas include corridors, entrance areas, stairs and elevators. Wearing a  face mask is not required at the workplace if the room is used by only one person, or if the minimum distance of 1.5 m can be kept at all times. If distance requirements (1.5 meters) cannot be observed during joint work sessions or business travelling, wearing a FFP2 face mask or surgical mask is mandatory. In general, these items are intended for single use, but can also be re-used after drying. This regulation applies to all areas and activities at the university, in buildings, outdoors and in vehicles. The use of plastic face protection shields without wearing a mouth and nose covering is not permitted inside campus buildings.

Teaching staff may remove the mask once they have reached their seats in the lecture hall.

It is recommended, if possible, to take a break from wearing a mouth and nose covering or surgical mask after 3 hours (75 minutes in case of FFP2 masks), ideally for a period of at least 30 minutes.