FAQ about the coronavirus

As of 20 March 2022, there are no longer any access restrictions for universities. To enter university buildings, 3-G proof (vaccinated, recovered or tested) is no longer required. The 3-G requirement at the workplace also no longer applies. An exception applies as of 16 March 2022 for employees who work in areas with a facility-based vaccination requirement and who must be required to present valid proof of vaccination or recovery. The obligation to track contacts no longer applies.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) continues to recommend compliance with the so-called AHA+A+L rules (distance, hygiene, everyday mask, Corona-Warn-App, ventilation). As of Monday, 9 May 2022, masks are no longer mandatory at Friedrich Schiller University. However, it is still strongly recommended to wear a qualified mouth-nose protection (medical/FFP2 mask) inside the university – especially in larger groups and if the minimum distance of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained.

A video on how to wear best and handle FFP2-masks can be found here (German only).

Courses can be held face-to-face without distancing. With the exception of the Faculty of Medicine, there are no longer any prescribed upper limits for participants.

Pay attention to hygiene (e.g. cough and sneeze etiquette) and use the federal government's Corona-Warn-App. If this is used by everyone, it is a very effective tool for breaking chains of infection at an early stage.

Manual ventilation is mandatory in rooms without mechanical ventilation. As a basic rule for office rooms: ventilate hourly over the entire window area for 3 minutes (in winter) or 10 minutes (in summer); meeting and seminar rooms, as well as lecture halls without mechanical ventilation should be ventilated every 20 minutes. In addition, ventilation should be provided for 15 minutes after each course (but at least every 90 minutes).

Larger events, congresses and conferences can be held again. The summer festival on Schiller Day (24 June 2022) is also being planned with increased infection control.

Please observe the current framework hygiene plan of the University of Jena [pdf, 405 kb] de (German only).

As of Monday, 9 May 2022, masks are no longer mandatory at Friedrich Schiller University. However, it is still strongly recommended to wear a qualified mouth-nose protection (medical/FFP2 mask) inside the university – especially in larger groups and if the minimum distance of 1.5 metres cannot be maintained.

Until Friday, 20 May, all students at Friedrich Schiller University Jena can pick up two free FFP2 masks (one time only) in the foyer of the Ernst Abbe Campus (in front of lecture halls 4 and 5) by presenting their thoska card. They are handed out Monday to Friday between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm. Please understand if there are any waiting times and always ensure that the minimum distance is observed here as well. Please always make sure to wear the masks correctly and allow them to dry for seven days before reuse.

A video on how to wear best and handle FFP2-masks can be found here (German only).

The following rules must be observed in buildings and on university premises:

• Persons who show COVID-19 symptoms or who come from a corona risk area abroad are not allowed to enter the university;
• When working on-site, you need to comply with the current framework hygiene plan of the University of Jena [pdf, 405 kb] de (German only).

At present it is known that there will be restricitons in the following university facilities:

Dining halls/cafeterias

University Library (ThULB)

Customer and Print Centre de (German only)

The branch libraries of the ThULB are open. Wearing a mask is strongly recommended here as well. The designated hygiene and infection protection rules are to be observed.

Group study rooms are currently not available, workstations can be used both with and without reservation. Carrels must be booked in advance. Training courses and introductions to library use in presence form take place on a limited basis in compliance with the AHAL rules.

Further information about the working conditions are available on the website of the ThULB (German only).

With the exception of the cafeteria vegeTable, all dining halls and cafeterias of the Studierendenwerk Thüringen are open again for students and employees.

In-house eating is just as possible as taking food home. Payment is only possible without cash using the thoska (exception: cafeteria Zur Rosen). It is requested that you continue to wear a mask when you are not eating, and attention must be paid to the safety distance.

The exact opening hours and up-to-date information can be found on the Studierendenwerk website.

Contact tracking via QRoniton will be suspended from 20 March until further notice. We strongly recommend you use the federal government's Corona-Warn-App. If this is used by everyone, it is a very effective tool for breaking chains of infection at an early stage.

Advertisement for the Corona-Warn-App with the slogan "Helps. If you take part." Graphic: Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung

If you have cold symptoms (even very mild ones), stay at home in any case. Do not go to a test centre, but first contact your general practitioner's office, the health department responsible for you or the on-call health insurance service (telephone: +49 116 117) to discuss how to proceed.

Immediately put yourself in self-isolation and inform as soon as possible:

• the health department of the city of Jena (German only)
• your lecturers or students, if you attended or conducted face-to-face courses in the last two days before the test was taken or before the onset of the first symptoms
• close contacts (more information: https://gesundheit.jena.de/de/coronavirus)

Please observe the RKI recommendations on the duration of isolation (German only).

In case of questions regarding the current situation in Jena, the number of cases, general rulings, as well as advisory and information services provided by the City of Jena, please visit https://gesundheit.jena.de/en/coronavirus.

For up-to-date information on the situation at the University, please see this overview of FAQs and visit our blog.

For those returning from a high risk area or a virus variant area abroad there is an obligation to register. Before arriving in Germany, travellers must register at https://www.einreiseanmeldung.de and carry proof of registration with them on entry.

Those entering or returning from abroad who are not vaccinated and have stayed abroad within the last ten days prior to entry must carry proof ofa negative Covid-19 test result (PCR test max. 72 h, antigen-Test max. 48 h).

The following rules apply for those entering or returning from a high risk area :

• for vaccinated persons: travellers must carry proof of their online registration
• for those who are not vaccinated: travellers must carry proof of their online registration and of a negative Covid-19 test result (PCR test max. 72 h, antigen-Test max. 48 h). Travellers are also obliged to enter a ten-day quarantine immediately after entry. After five days of quarantine at the earliest, travellers can be tested for SARS-CoV-2 to end the quarantine obligation with a negative test result. 

The following rules apply for those entering or returning from virus variant area:

• for vaccinated persons: travellers must carry proof of their online registration and of a negative Covid-19 test result (PCR test max. 72 h, antigen-Test max. 48 h). Travellers are also obliged to enter a fourteen-day quarantine immediately after entry.
• for those who are not vaccinated: travellers must carry proof of their online registration and of a negative Covid-19 test result (PCR test max. 72 h, antigen-Test max. 48 h). Travellers are also obliged to enter a fourteen-day quarantine immediately after entry.

You can find an overview of the entry regulations here as a PDF document (German). Please visit the website of the Robert Koch Institute or the Federal Foreign Office and the city of Jena for up-to-date information on further regulations and exceptions.

It is not possible to shorten the quarantine period when entering the country from a virus variant area. 

If you show symptoms of illness, you must call the hotline +49 3641 49 3333 in addition to calling your general practitioner or the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung). The designation of risk areas can be found at: https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete_neu.html (German).

The "Increased risk" alert in the Corona Warning App only informs the user that there is an increased risk of infection due to the proximity and duration of a contact with a person who has reported a positive test result via the App, and recommends that the user contact their physician, the medical on-call service 116 117 or the health authority by telephone. The decision on a sick leave or the order of a home isolation (quarantine) is made by the treating physician or the responsible public health department based on their own assessment.

Comply with the hygiene rules (German only) currently in force which are part of the University's infection prevention concept.

Take the following simple actions: maintain a distance from other people, practice good hand hygiene, wear a face covering (surgical mask or FFP2 mask), use the coronavirus warning App and ensure sufficient ventilation of rooms.

Avoid:

• enclosed spaces with insufficient ventilation
• gatherings of people
• conversations with others without keeping distance

Wherever possible and appropriate, activities should be carried out in the home office with the approval of the employee's superiors.

You can always get up-to-date information from these institutions.

Robert Koch Institute
Information of the Federal Centre for Health Education on infection prevention (in German)
Information of the Federal Ministry of Health on COVID-19
Federal Institute for Vaccines and Biomedicines
Public Health Department of the City of Jena

The Corona pandemic has led to such an overload of work in some areas, especially in the social sector, that volunteers are needed. If you would like to volunteer, you can find opportunities worthy of support here (this list will be updated continuously).

1.) You can also register as a volunteer with the Corona Engagement Finder, so that institutions seeking help can become aware of you, or you can search there yourself for institutions that have registered a need: https://www.buergerstiftung-jena.de/corona-engagementfinder.html 

Enquiries to:
Heidi Scheller, Head of Volunteer Agency
Telephone: 03641 6392923
E-mail: scheller@buergerstiftung-jena.de 

2.) Medical students or people with previous medical training who would like to get involved can contact Karsten Krohn at the University Hospital Jena Krohn@med.uni-jena.de. He coordinates the assignments of these volunteers with medical training.

Important for student volunteers: In principle, they can take leave from their studies as a "pandemic-related special reason". All you need to do is submit a written agreement (contract, etc.) to the Student Service Centre.

The current situation is not easy for anyone right now. Worries about health, financial difficulties or loneliness due to fewer social and physical contacts can be very stressful. The pastoral care of the Faculty of Theology therefore offers help and counselling. You can reach them Mo-Fr 4 to 6 p.m. under telephone +49 3641 942666 and furthermore via the contact form de or an email to: seelsorge@uni-jena.de. You will receive feedback and a personal contact in a timely manner.

Further information on help and advice can be found on the blog of the University of Jena.

Additional support and counselling services outside the university are listed here.

Test centre on campus

A public test centre is open in the foyer of Carl-Zeiß-Straße 3 from Monday to Friday between 7.30 am and 4.30 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays between 10 am and 2 pm. In the case of a positive rapid test result a PCR test can be done directly on-site.

Employees

Employees who do not work exclusively from home can also take advantage of the university's offer to obtain two free rapid antigen tests per week until the end of May. The tests can still be ordered from the university shop.

Other testing opportunities

The city of Jena publishes all testing opportunities in Jena on its website. Current information and the opening hours of the rapid test centers are also listed there. A central testing center in the city center is available at the Goethe Galerie, among other locations.

The rapid tests are not suitable for symptomatic persons (contact your general practitioner!), companies or institutions with their own testing regime (e.g. senior citizen facilities). Also, a free test to end a quarantine cannot be performed at the rapid test center. Only the health department team can declare a quarantine terminated.