Status update of April 9, 2021
 

Dear employees and guests,

The nationwide lockdown has been extended until April 18.

The state government in Baden-Württemberg refers to the implementation of the so-called emergency brake of relaxation measures already started if the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in seven days is above 100 in individual districts.

Mandatory testing for all employees at the Max Planck Campus Tübingen

Employers and employees in Tübingen are committed to perform weekly Corona quick tests, starting April 12.

•     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 doing mobile work at all days and those fully vaccinated do not need to test

Please refer to the instructions emailed to you on April 9. The information contains more details regarding where to pick up your test kits, where to perform the test, and the procedure of individual reporting. The city´s Office of Public Order imposes heavy fines on individuals and employers in case of violations. Therefore, please comply to this testing requirement without compromise.

Mask obligation in cars

There is a mask obligation in cars (medical mask or FFP2-/KN95-/N95-mask) for all occupants, if persons from outside the household are in the vehicle. Couples who do not live together are considered one household.

Mask obligation for children from six years of age

In all areas where a medical mask or FFP2/KN95/N95 mask must be worn, this requirement also applies to children. Young children up to 5 years of age continue to be exempt from the mask requirement. Please also remind that the regular requirements for wearing masks remain in place.

Tübingen Day Visa

Anyone entering Tübingen from another district and wishing to visit retail stores there must present a negative Corona rapid test. Only an official daily certificate by the city of Tübingen is valid. It is handed out at mobile test stations in downtown Tübingen.
However, anyone who has Corona-specific symptoms should not come to one of the test mobiles, but is asked to contact their family doctor or the health authorities immediately.

The mobile test stations in Tübingen

Marketplace, Karlstrasse, public library
Monday to Friday 9.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
Saturday 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free antigen rapid tests now available at CeGat

CeGat offers antigen rapid tests at the Technology Campus Tübingen, free of charge and during extended opening hours. These are weekdays from 9:30 to 17:00, and Saturdays from 9:00 to 13:00. A test is done without an appointment. The result should be available within 15 minutes. For more information, please click here.

Address: CeGaT GmbH, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 23, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany
 

The requirement for wearing masks remains in place

Moreover, please remind that changed regulations with stricter hygiene, contact and entry conditions apply since January 25, 2021.

Since Monday, January 25, 2021, there are important federal changes in the mask-wearing regulations:

The wearing of medical, 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, in particular, if the hygiene regulations cannot always be fully complied with
• local public transport
• visits to any doctor's office or medical facility, e.g. hospitals
• children daycare and similar
• 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 that was previously required (everyday mask). Children up to the age of five are exempt from the mask requirement.

Please observe the following 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.
• Medical mask-wearing is mandatory in the institute buildings, in particular, if the hygiene regulations cannot always be fully complied with. 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.

• 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
• When entering the country from a risk area, a 10-day quarantine is mandatory, which can be terminated at the earliest with a negative test result obtained from the fifth day of quarantine. From January 11, 2021, there will be an additional testing obligation upon entry. The testing obligation can be fulfilled by testing within 48 hours before arrival or by testing immediately after entry. This so-called "two-test strategy" is introduced due to the currently very dynamic development and the occurrence of mutations of the coronavirus.

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.