Status update as of May 3, 2022
 

Dear employees and guests,

From May 3, updated regulations for handling the coronavirus apply. From now on, the isolation period for individuals who have tested positive for Corona is only five days. Quarantine for close contacts and household members has been completely eliminated. The mask requirement in public transport (including train and air travel) and medical areas (e.g., doctors' offices, hospitals, nursing homes) remains in place. Occasionally, facilities and businesses open to the public may make use of their house rules and continue to impose a mask requirement. Please always observe the notices at the entrances.

At the Max Planck Campus Tübingen, masks are still mandatory in all indoor areas.

Further details can be found in the overview below.

Modifications for employees from March 20 (valid until May 25, 2022)

• Every employee has unlimited access to the institutes at the Max Planck Campus Tübingen. Facilitations in areas that were based on vaccination status lose their validity.
• The previous hygiene and distance regulations remain in effect for everyone until further notice.
• Wherever possible, the multiple use of rooms is to be avoided accordingly. For this purpose, mobile working can also be used, as in the past, after consultation with the respective supervisor. Regular shock ventilation (every 45 minutes) in offices is still necessary.
• Spacing rules and the wearing of preferably FFP2 masks are necessary in the rooms and shared traffic areas such as corridors and stairwells. In addition, we recommend that masks also be worn outdoors if the minimum distance is not observed.
• Employees still have the opportunity to test themselves twice a week at the institutes.
• During breaks and especially in the cafeteria, the AHA-L rules should be applied consistently.

Mask obligation

• A general obligation to wear a medical mask (a surgical or FFP2 mask) applies in all institute and operational buildings of the Max Planck Campus Tübingen. It is strongly recommended to wear only FFP2 masks in all closed rooms and when meeting other persons.
• Masks must be worn whenever a distance of 1.5 meters cannot be maintained.
• On campus grounds, masks do not have to be worn outside of buildings.

• From April 3, masks still remain obligatory outside the Max Planck Campus Tübingen in:

  • public transport, i.e. bus and train, as well as in airplanes and passenger ships.
  • doctors' offices, hospitals, outpatient surgery facilities, preventive or rehabilitation clinics, dialysis facilities and day clinics.
  • outpatient care services and in fully or partially inpatient facilities for the care and accommodation of the elderly, people with disabilities or people in need of care.
  • shared accommodations for refugees.
  • all buildings accessible to the public, where house rules are executed (please always check notices).

Mobile working

• Employees will continue to be offered the opportunity to work from home in consultation with their superiors, where possible.
• All employees who have tested positive but are still able to work without symptoms, the general quarantine regulations apply (please see below) with the request to work from home and not to come to any of our institutes.

Quarantine rules

• After five days, isolation terminates if affected individuals have no symptoms of illness for at least 48 hours. If symptoms persist, the isolation must be continued. It ends after ten days at the latest. A negative test is not necessary to end the isolation.
• Contact persons and household members are not obliged for isolation - regardless of their vaccination status. For them, it is recommended to reduce contacts with other persons for a period of ten days after the last contact with the person who tested positive.
• For employees in hospitals and care facilities, etc., the following applies: after isolation, work is only allowed to be resumed with a negative Corona test.
   

Regulations for events, gatherings, meetings and conferences

Notes:

3G: Evidence required of testing, vaccination or recovery
2G: Evidence required of vaccination or recovery
AHA+L: Distancing – hand hygiene – face covering + ventilation

The 2G model may only be operationally necessary at events, gatherings, meetings or conferences, if individuals are also given the option to attend based on a hybrid variant.
This procedure is intended to ensure that virtual attendance does not lead to disadvantages in the employment relationship. At the same time, virtual participation does not mean that individuals do not meet the 2G criteria. Virtual participation may be chosen for a variety of reasons, e.g. to avoid travel, clashes with other meetings etc. There is no requirement to disclose the reasons.
Participation in the 2G model during attendance must be voluntary for MPG employees; this is the main basis to ensure that employees are not forced to provide information about their vaccination status. Reason: For reasons relating to data protection law, employers are notpermitted to ask about their employees' vaccination status.

Hygiene concepts for events with four or more people

• Hygiene concepts must be submitted for meetings with more than four 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.

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 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(at)gv.mpg.de.

The Max Planck House and its cafeteria and canteen is open for guests.

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.