Status update of September 16, 2021
 

Dear employees and guests,

with the modification of the Corona ordinance of the State of Baden-Württemberg, the regulations in the private and public sector are again adjusted. Since September 16, restrictions apply to unvaccinated persons in both the private and public sectors. The new Corona ordinance provides for a multi-stage warning system to prevent overloading of the health care system. If overuse becomes apparent, the rules will have to be tightened for the unvaccinated.

Warning and alert stage regulations in Baden-Württemberg

Obligations of the Warning Stage

The warning stage comes into effect when 250 intensive care beds are occupied by Covid 19 patients for two consecutive working days - or when eight out of 100,000 residents have been admitted to a hospital with Corona symptoms within five days. For the unvaccinated, public events, museums, theaters, cinemas or restaurants can then only be visited with a negative PCR test. PCR tests must be paid for by the individual. A rapid antigen test is no longer sufficient, according to the state government.

In addition, contact restrictions are in effect during the warning level for the unvaccinated and those who are not proven to have recovered. A household is allowed to meet with five other people. Couples are considered one household, even if they do not live together. In addition to recovered and vaccinated persons, children and adolescents up to and including age 17 and persons who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons are exempt from the number of persons and PCR testing requirement.

Compulsions of the Alert Stage

The alert level is invoked when there are more than 390 occupied ICU beds for two consecutive business days with Corona patients or when the hospitalization incidence is twelve for five consecutive business days. Then, in addition to the rules from the warning level, the 2G rule also applies in many areas. Anyone who has not been vaccinated or shown to be recovering is then not allowed in there - even with a negative PCR test.

The German Interdisciplinary Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine provides daily updated charts about the current situation on hospitalization and ICU occupation. For the state of Baden-Württemberg, for example, please consult the upper right graph which reflects on the daily situation at ICUs. It was at 199 on September 16.
 

Mandatory testing for unvaccinated employees

The amended Corona Ordinance further provides in the warning and alert stage for mandatory testing of employees and self-employed persons who have contact with external individuals, e.g. customer contact, contact with suppliers, external employees, visitors etc. Recovered and vaccinated persons are exempt from the testing requirement. Non-vaccinated persons are required by regulation to keep evidence of two weekly tests for four weeks and, upon request, to make it available to the relevant authorities.

We ask all non-vaccinated employees at the Max Planck Campus Tübingen to comply with this testing obligation twice a week by all means as soon as the warning or alert stage comes into effect. The testing centers on campus are available without restriction.

Testing at the Max Planck Campus Tübingen below warning stage

•     Employees present 4 to 5 times per week: 2 tests per week.
•     Employees who are present 1 to 3 times per week: 1 test per week.
•     Employees in home office and fully vaccinated as well as recovered persons do not need to be tested.

Keep your distance

• The 10-square-meter-per-person rule in offices, seminar rooms and laboratories will be replaced by the 1.5-meter distance rule. The 1.5-meter spacing rule must be maintained wherever no technical solution is possible to reduce aerosol transmissions.
•  The number of occupiable seats in meeting rooms and offices can thus be increased again.
•  Vaccinated and recovered persons must also be counted.

Wearing of masks in all indoor rooms and when the distance rule is not observed

• Masks must be worn whenever a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained.
• Thus, inside buildings, the existing rules for wearing a mask still apply.
• On campus grounds, masks do not have to be worn outside of buildings.
• An exception is outdoor events, where masks must continue to be worn as soon as the distance of 1.5 meters between participants cannot be maintained.

Hygiene concepts for events with ten or more people

• Hygiene concepts must be submitted for meetings with more than 10 people and should include the following information:
• Meetings should be kept as short as possible and must end by 10:00 p.m., if not earlier.
• No beverages with high alcohol content may be consumed.
• Organizers must ensure that spacing and sanitation rules are followed at all times.
• The appropriate hygiene policy form can be downloaded here and in the sidebar to the right.

Work-related events only

• Work-related events including informal gatherings of departments and work groups require a hygiene concept signed by the responsible group leader(s) or director(s).
• Work-related events including graduation ceremonies should be held outdoors only.
• No private events on campus, this also applies to the barbecue area.

The crisis team reminds everyone of existing regulations

Masks

• The wearing of medical masks, including surgical masks (DIN EN 14683:2019-10) or FFP2 (DIN EN 149:2001) respectively masks of the standards KN95/N95 are mandatory in public areas. This applies in particular to:
  • the workplace, when hygiene regulations cannot always be fully complied with (see above)
  • the local public transport
  • visits to any doctor's office or medical facility, e.g. hospitals
  • the retail trade
  • religious gatherings

Children up to 14 years of age are exempt from this regulation; they can continue to wear the mouth-nose protection required up to now (so-called everyday mask). Children up to five years of age are completely exempt from the mask requirement.

Mobile working and business trips

• Tasks that can be handled effectively and efficiently from home should be able to be performed in the home office in consultation with your supervisor.
• Travel to risk areas must remain a well-justified exception.
• The Robert Koch Institute continuously defines COVID-19 risk areas. We ask all employees to consult the RKI service pages before undertaking personal travel abroad or welcoming new employees and guests from abroad to the Tübingen campus.
• Persons entering Germany from risk areas must follow the new guidelines issued by the German authorities and the Tübingen Campus. For business trips abroad, clearance must be obtained from the central crisis team of the Max Planck Society: krisenstab@gv.mpg.de.

Further information on events and meetings

• For events with more than ten persons, it is mandatory to have a hygiene concept.
• A person responsible for the event or experiment must be named.
• A hygiene concept must be submitted to the responsible contact person of the Safety Office (Brigitte Walderich, Holger Fischer, Jörg Eisfeld) in time for approval.
• The previously designated responsible person keeps a list of the participants and is responsible for compliance with the hygiene rules (keeping distance, hand disinfection, mask obligation, ventilation).
• The event must be registered and approved by the institute management at least three days in advance (especially in case of participation of external persons).
• An attendance list must be kept for four weeks after the event.

The Max Planck House is open for guests, but please note that the Max Planck House is not available for a quarantine stay.

Children at the Tübingen Campus are required to wear masks from the age of six. The general regulations of supervision and the requirements of occupational health and safety must be observed.