Measures to reduce the spread of infection
26 August 2020
Ahead of the autumn semester, the University’s campuses have prepared in many ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection. The big challenges for you as a student include keeping your distance during laboratory sessions on campus and when heating up your packed lunch in the student kitchen. In several campus areas, you will have to visit a tent to pick up your campus card.
Distance and spacing will be in effect until further notice when the autumn semester begins, and the University will continue to follow the recommendations of the Public Health Agency of Sweden. The maximum number of places available in lecture halls is 50 (excluding teachers) and individuals should be at least 1.5 metres apart. Efforts must be made to ensure physical spacing (social distancing) in all activities to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection. However, there is no maximum number for reading places or other seating in corridors and dining halls; all that is required here is adequate distance.
Ahead of the autumn semester, Uppsala University has ramped up measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection. Signs, roll-ups, tabletop notices and digital screens will help to remind everyone what to think about so as to reduce the spread of infection. Hand sanitiser has been deployed in strategic locations. It is important that you as a student follow the instructions posted around campus.
Student kitchens open
The group rooms are closed in most campus areas – the booking system will display the available rooms when you book. Students have access to corridors and lecture halls in connection with on-campus lectures and teaching sessions – but it is highly desirable that you study at home as far as possible, as physical spacing means less room and fewer places are available for study on campus. For example, only a third of the seats in the restaurant at Ekonomikum are available and similar restrictions are in effect throughout the University.
As regards the student kitchens on campus, a decision has been made to leave all the microwave ovens available as previously.
“Well, we thought that if we removed half the microwaves, it would just lead to longer queues at the student kitchens, which would increase the risk of infection. We simply have to hope that everyone can keep their distance. Here at Ekonomikum we have moved the microwaves into a large room where they are placed well apart and we have also opened a lecture hall where the students can eat their food,” says campus coordinator Peter Götlind.
Tents for collecting access cards
Many campus areas will put up tents outside their entrances to receive new students who need campus cards. If you are a new student, all campus areas request that you upload a photo for your campus card yourself, so as to reduce card collection queues. Campus opening hours have been slightly shortened – you will find the opening hours and other local information on your campus website.
The University also hopes that everyone – students and leachers alike – will make sure to keep the necessary distance from one another during the laboratory sessions that have to take place on campus. This is a situation where people otherwise can easily end up too close to one another.
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