Status update of November 26, 2020
 

Dear employees and guests,

The speed at which the corona virus SARS-CoV-2 is spreading has worsened the pandemic situation in Germany and Baden-Württemberg. We are experiencing an exponential increase in the number of cases, which are doubling at an ever-faster rate.  At present, 75 percent of new infections in Germany cannot be traced.

In response to a new resolution passed by the federal and state governments on November 25, please find updated information below as well as a reminder of the regulations in force on the Max Planck Campus Tübingen.

Please note that the changed government rules will enter into force nationwide from December 1. They apply until December 20.

• The most important measure remains to keep a distance and reduce in-person contacts. You must reduce contacts with other people outside of your own household to an absolutely necessary minimum.
• From now on, meetings and gatherings in public places are only allowed with members of your own household and one other household, up to a maximum of 5 people.
• You are asked to generally refrain from unnecessary personal travel and visits, including visits to relatives. Hotel accommodation across the country will only be available for necessary reasons not related to tourism.
• Institutions and facilities related to leisure activities remain closed. These include theaters, cinemas, gyms, and swimming pools.
• Events that serve entertainment purposes are prohibited.
• Restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs and similar establishments remain closed. The only exceptions to this rule are takeout delivery and take away / pick-up for consumption at home as well the operation of canteens.
• Service providers in the field of personal hygiene remain closed. However, medically necessary treatments remain possible. Hairdressers will remain open under the existing hygiene regulations.
• Shops will remain open, subject to stricter hygiene regulations.
• Schools and daycares will also remain open until further notice. The school vacations are moved forward to December 19.
• On holidays, meetings of up to 10 people are allowed in a small circle.

Please observe the following new rules:

• We encourage people whose tasks can be carried out effectively and efficiently from to work from home, in consultation with their supervisors.
• In-person events with several people should be avoided and should instead be held virtually, as should one-on-one meetings. We strongly advise against holding meetings with more than 5 people. If it is absolutely necessary to hold an event with more than 10 people, a hygiene concept must be developed. A person responsible for the event or experiment must be named. A hygiene concept must be submitted to the responsible contact person in time for approval.
• With immediate effect, the consumption of food and beverages in tea kitchens and other common rooms outside the canteen and individual offices should be avoided unless space has been set up specifically for lunch breaks. The rules of distance must be strictly adhered.
• Mask-wearing is still mandatory in the institute buildings and the applicable social distancing rules must be observed.
• Please make sure that rooms are ventilated. This is necessary regardless of other protective measures such as maintaining minimum distances or wearing face masks. 
• Both business and personal trips abroad should be avoided. This applies in particular to the risk areas declared by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In justified exceptional cases, permission must be obtained your supervisors before planning a business trip abroad.
• We encourage you to use the German Federal Government’s Corona-Warn-App, which is available free of charge in the App Store  and can be downloaded from Google Play. 

We would like to emphasize that we will only be able to maintain the same level of activity on campus if everyone really follows the current rules.

The obligation to wear a mouth-and-nose covering in the institute buildings and the applicable distance regulations remain in force.

&nbs

• Laboratory workplaces can only be occupied to the maximum extent permitted by the distance regulations.
• For offices the following applies: at least 10 m² per person; exceptions only with other compensatory arrangements (enhanced distance, ventilation etc.). Care must be taken that desks are arranged in such a way that the distance rules can be observed and good ventilation of the room is ensured.
• Please reming that it is mandatory to wear a mouth-nose cover in all public places, especially at universities, schools, in pedestrian zones and waiting areas (as well as still in public transport).

Further information on events and meetings:

• Events with more than ten participants must have a hygiene concept.
• A person responsible for such an event or experiment has to be named.
• A hygiene concept must be submitted to the responsible contact person of the security offices (Brigitte Walderich, Holger Fischer, Jörg Eisfeld) for individual approval.
• The responsible organizing person (as named above) keeps a list of the participants and is responsible for the compliance with the hygiene rules (keeping of distance, hand disinfection, mask obligation, ventilation, etc.).
• The event must be registered and approved by the institute management at least three days in advance (especially in the case of participation by external persons).
• An attendance list must be kept for four weeks after the event.

Not only business, but also private trips abroad should be avoided. This applies in particular to the risk areas declared by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In justified exceptional cases, permission must be obtained from your supervisor.

• The Robert Koch Institute continuously reviews and defines COVID-19 risk areas. We ask all employees to consult the RKI service pages before taking any personal trip abroad or welcoming new employees and guests from abroad to the Tübingen campus.
• Travel to risk areas must remain a well-justified exception.
• Persons entering Germany from abroad risk areas must follow the current guidelines published by the German authorities and the Tübingen campus. For business trips abroad, clearance must be obtained from the central crisis management team of the Max Planck Society: krisenstab(at)gv.mpg.de
• Arrivals from abroad risk areas designated by the RKI are obliged to undergo a 10-day quarantine as long as no negative Corona test result is available. This also applies to persons who have first entered another Federal State of the Federal Republic of Germany. These persons must also inform the local authorities if they experience potential Corona symptoms with this 14-day period.
• Anyone who enters Baden-Württemberg from an abroad risk area must perform a mandatory Corona test. It is strongly recommended that a second test is performed 5 to 7 days after the first test.

The Max-Planck-Haus is open to guests. Please note, however, that it may NOT be used for quarantine purposes.

Children on the Tübingen campus are required to wear masks from the age of six years. All regulations of occupational safety and the individual duty of supervision must be observed.