Corona update: Regulations for university operations from 3.4.22 | Organisation of the summer semester 2022

Dear students and staff at Kiel University,

The start of the summer semester 2022 is around the corner and we would therefore like to inform you about the coronavirus regulations that will apply at Kiel University from 3 April 2022. Our goal for the upcoming summer semester is a comprehensive return to face-to-face activities in teaching, research, administration and other university operations. At the same time, in light of the still very high number of infections, health protection and protection against infection must be ensured for all members and guests of our university. Therefore, during the summer semester, Kiel University will maintain basic protection measures to curb the spread of infection and to protect vulnerable groups. These measures are initially limited until 30 April 2022. The University Board will decide whether to extend or adapt the measures, depending on the development of the infection rate.

General regulations

In the summer semester, comprehensive face-to-face operations are once again the goal for all areas of the university. Thereby, the basic hygiene measures (AHA+L) will remain in effect. In detail this means:

• In all buildings at Kiel Unversity, it will initially remain mandatory to wear a mask (medical or FFP2 mask) in all enclosed rooms as of 3 April 2022.
• The minimum distance of 1.5 metres must still be maintained (wherever possible), along with hand hygiene, coughing and sneezing etiquette and regular ventilation.

At workplaces in offices, laboratories and workshops, the medical or FFP2 mask may be removed, if the minimum distance to colleagues is maintained or if physical barriers exist. 

The following are no longer required:

• Development of hygiene concepts for events and individual institutions at Kiel University
• Cleaning of objects and surfaces
• Capacity restrictions for Kiel Unversity event rooms (full capacity allowed)

Detailed information will soon be available in the Hygiene Conceptual Framework, which is currently being updated again, and also on the coronavirus website of Kiel University. If you have any questions about the utilisation of offices or other rooms, please contact the Central Unit: Safety Engineering for advice.

Studying and teaching

It will also remain mandatory to wear a mask at all times during teaching events and examinations, irrespective of the capacity utilisation of the rooms. The mask may be removed by speakers during their lecture/presentation. Individual solutions must be found (bearing in mind the local environments) if medical certificates are presented by students or employees. Please feel free to contact the Central Unit: Safety Engineering for assistance.

If you are clearly suffering from cold symptoms yourself, stay at home as before and avoid further contact. If persons with obvious cold symptoms are present in indoor areas at Kiel University, they will be explicitly requested to go home. As before, ventilation (windows and doors open completely) should take place every 20 minutes in (teaching event) rooms without technical ventilation, and the minimum distance of 1.5 metres should be maintained wherever possible.

All teachers will be made aware that during the coming summer semester, students and also teachers will be more likely to be absent due to infections (or quarantine measures), so that generous regulations should be adopted for courses with compulsory attendance, in line with the policy of disadvantage compensation. In addition, materials for these teaching events should be made available to students, so that they can catch up after absences through self-study. If the technical requirements are met, hybrid teaching events can be offered or they can be recorded, in order to provide asynchronous digital teaching formats in addition to the face-to-face formats. Recordings of previous teaching events can also be reused for this purpose.

Students can find information on applying for disadvantage compensation on the corona-website.

We are delighted that after more than two years, we are now heading for a summer semester with few restrictions once again. However, this easing of restrictions requires increased attention, consideration and personal responsibility from all of us. The coronavirus continues to cause high infection rates, and especially persons who belong to high-risk groups must be protected. Therefore, please follow the general distancing and hygiene rules, and stay at home if you have any symptoms of a coronavirus infection. We also ask for your understanding that we are not yet abolishing the mask requirements in indoor areas.

We wish you a good and healthy start to the new semester!

With best regards,
Claudia Ricarda Meyer, Chancellor
Prof. Markus Hundt, Vice President