Information COVID-19

Jacobs University’s primary commitment, besides offering a first-class education, is to keep its community – students, staff, partners, and guests – safe and healthy.

With regard to the ongoing global spread of COVID-19, Jacobs University has taken intensive measures to protect all students, guests and staff members at a very early stage.

Already in January 2020, Jacobs University established an internal coronavirus task force in which members of all areas of the university are represented. Consisting of various departments this task force monitors available data and all developments in regards to the virus off-campus and on-campus, decides on further measures and prepares their implementation. This includes gathering information and recommendations from the "World Health Organization", the "Robert Koch Institute", one of the most important bodies for the safeguarding of public health in Germany, the Federal Ministry of Health and the "Gesundheitsamt Bremen” (Bremen’s Health Office).

Ensuring health and safety means taking actions that aim to limit exposure of Jacobs community members to the virus, imposing social distancing, and generally elevating preventive hygiene practices across the campus.

Jacobs University developed its hygiene, safety, health and supply concepts for students and employees early on. With only a few Corona cases on campus over the last years, these measures have proven to be extraordinarily successful, reliable, and sustainable.

Coordinated by the task force, all members of our community receive direct and regular information through

• Jacobs University’s intranet
• Posters, which were put up in all residential colleges and common rooms
• Update emails from the university’s leadership
• Peer group and individual communication
• Social media channels
• Video conferences
• Regular direct briefings with student representatives

Jacobs University recommends its community members to take all precautionary measures available to stay healthy:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.
• Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are unavailable. In order to enable this, Jacobs University has installed hand disinfectant dispensers in all serveries, the coffee bar and all relevant administrative offices. Also, free individual disinfection dispensers are available to all Jacobs affiliates.
• Maintain social distancing wherever possible (maintain at least 1.5 meters distance.)
• Refrain from touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Wear a face mask (surgical masks, masks of the KN95/N95 standard or FFP2 masks) indoors – especially in rooms where a proper distance or sufficient ventilation cannot be guaranteed.
• We encourage the entire Jacobs Community to use the official "Corona-Warn-App" of the German government to fight the further spread of COVID-19.

Follow the recommendations of the World Health Organization

Adjustment to the obligation to wear a mask (mouth-nose covering)

The wearing of a medical face mask (surgical masks, masks of the KN95/N95 standard or FFP2 masks) is obligatory for persons over the age of 6 years

• in public transport – both for passengers and for personnel
• in doctors’ offices, hospitals, day clinics, outpatient and inpatient care facilities
• in shelters for the homeless and in shared accommodation for asylum seekers.

Adjustment to the 3G Rule (vaccinated, recovered or tested)

• the 3G rule is mandatory in doctors' offices, hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, detention centers, and institutions for the treatment of psychiatric disorders
• no 3G rule applies in public transport (buses and trains)
• gastronomy and retail facilities can take their own protective measures, which may include 3G access restrictions, distance rules or a mask requirement
• an obligation for the 3G rule at the workplace no longer applies. Each employer can implement its own protective measures in the course of an operational risk assessment.

Mandatory isolation for individuals infected with COVID-19

• Individuals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 must continue to stay in home isolation.
•  A quarantine requirement for contacts will not apply as of April 2.

With the aim of curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and depending on current developments, the Federal Government and the Federal States (including the State of Bremen) agreed to adapt the respective guidelines for behavior and for freedom of movement and mobility. These are binding for all people staying in Germany.

• You can find the latest information and regulations from the German government on COVID-19 here (GERMAN only).
• The latest information on the situation in Bremen (number of current COVID-19 cases, recommended precaution measures and links to the offices and departments in charge) is available here.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the corona regulations on campus have essentially been based on the current corona regulations of the State of Bremen and have been adapted to the situation on the Jacobs University campus accordingly.

An overview of current corona regulations on the campus of Jacobs University can be accessed here.

All regulations and guidelines must be respected and will be enforced by campus and local authorities.

Jacobs University continuously strives to expand options to protect the members of our community within the scope of our possibilities and our legal requirements.
 
In view of the continuously changing number of corona cases in Germany and in Bremen, and the continuing demand for COVID-19 tests, the Bremen Health Authority has issued instructions and recommendations for personal examinations. Also, these regulations and procedures may change in time.

The pages of the Senator for Health Bremen provide an overview of testing possibilities in Bremen.
 
In case you suffer from fever, cough or respiratory symptoms OR have had direct contact with people who are demonstrably ill showing COVID-19 symptoms

• First contact your primary care physician by telephone! Do not go directly to the doctor's practice or the corona ambulance!   
• Outside the regular office hours of your doctor's practice – like in the evening/night and during the weekend – you can call the Central Health Service of Bremen: CALL 0421-116 117  
• Calls may take a while to get answered. And the Central Health Service of Bremen is running a German language telephone information service, so please wait until a contact person is answering directly. Stay on the line and answer all the questions.  
• Follow the instructions  

Be prepared to answer the following questions:

• General Information: name, last name, mailing address, your health insurance number and provider  
• Symptoms: what kind of symptoms like fever, cough, breathing difficulties, or any other respiratory symptoms do you experience? Since when? Have you already sought medical advice?   
• Travel History: what is your travel history in the last 2 months? In which cities, regions, and countries have you been, when and how long?  
• Contact History: have you been in contact with people infected with coronavirus? (When, where, who?)

 
IMPORTANT: In case a student gets tested positive for COVID-19, we ask him/her to inform Jacobs University immediately by e-mail: healthinfo [at] jacobs-university.de. We urge all students to follow this process since an immediate information flow is of the utmost importance in taking all precautions to contain a further spread of the virus on campus.

The same process applies if you are in an ordered quarantine by the Bremen Public Health Office.

In case you are in ordered quarantine by the Bremen Public Health Office caused by a positive test for COVID-19 and need urgent medical assistance:

• Call your primary care physician, the Bremen Central Health Service or the Emergency Number 112 - and ALWAYS state clearly that you are in quarantine!

Support from your Health Insurance Provider

For students who are insured by the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), there are two "TK-MediCall" phone numbers of the medical advisory center available. The callers can speak directly with doctors:

• German speaking hotline: 040-46 06 - 61 91 60   
• English speaking hotline: 040 - 46 06 61 91 40  

 For students who are insured by the AOK, there are two German-language hotlines of the “AOK-Clarimedis” service:  

• Free of Charge for AOK members: 0800 1 265 265  
• Phone number from abroad (charges apply): 0049 3085614293   

The city of Bremen has set up a general information hotline: under the telephone number 0049 421 115 you can get information (in German) about the coronavirus in Bremen.

Despite or perhaps even because of this challenging time, Jacobs University is looking forward to the ongoing academic year 2021/22.

Jacobs University continuously strives to optimize its teaching and research offerings by balancing the wish and need for individual academic offerings with the necessary health protection for all members of our community.

In order to do so, the Jacobs University’s Academic Leadership Group has developed an internal action plan on gradual and specific adaptations of academic operations. This action plan is valid throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (academic year 2021/2022). It is based on the legal framework in Germany and in Bremen. The measures refer to different escalation levels, taking into account class sizes as well as pedagogic factors. The interventions outlined in this action plan are embedded in a broader set of university measures, which include a variety of protective measures, an internal tracing system, as well as support for the students affected.

Nevertheless, all our measures and initiatives have to comply with the regulations of the Federal Republic of Germany and of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen.

FALL SEMESTER 2021 / SPRING SEMESTER 2022

Depending on the number of infections and the legal situation in Bremen, the situation on campus is re-evaluated on a regular basis. All students will be informed of adaptations in the teaching mode as they are implemented, with possible shifts to hybrid teaching or online teaching in dependence on the course type.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions are in place for entering Germany from a large number of countries. Moreover, individuals are obliged to self-isolate for a specific period. Details are available here.

FAQ provided by the Federal Ministry of Health regarding entry regulations when travelling to Germany can be accessed here.

Our overriding principle is to protect the health and safety of our employees and our students – who not only learn, and research here, but also live on campus.

Given this, Jacobs University has all intentions of continuing to keep the residential colleges open during the semester, as the majority of the students have an ongoing need of accommodation, catering and community support.

The university is making all necessary arrangements to maintain the operations in this domain, and is equipped to cater to students that need to be quarantined in their rooms on campus.

The adjustments to the Corona Rules on the Jacobs University campus are as follows. They will apply concurrently with the Corona Regulations in the State of Bremen as of April 2, 2022:

Extensive removal of the obligation to wear a mask (mouth-nose covering)

• The general obligation to wear a mask no longer applies.
• Nevertheless, Jacobs University explicitly recommends wearing a mask indoors – especially in rooms where a proper distance or sufficient ventilation cannot be guaranteed.
• Exception: only in the laboratories is the wearing of a face mask still mandatory until further notice.

Elimination of the 3G rule (vaccinated, recovered or tested)

• The 3G rule no longer applies to the entire Jacobs University campus.
• This also eliminates the employer's requirement for 3G checks of employees.

Reporting a COVID-19 illness

• In order to continuously assess and evaluate the COVID-19 situation on campus and to be able to make possible adjustments to the regulations, we ask all students (mailto: healthinfo [at] jacobs-university.de) and employees (inform supervisors and/or the Human Resources Department) to continue to immediately report a positive SARS-CoV-2 test to Jacobs University.
• The quarantine requirement will continue for those tested positive for COVID-19. Individuals testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 must continue to stay in home isolation.

Supplement to the Mode of Teaching

• In light of the current situation on campus (as of March 31), the 3G rule no longer applies and there is no requirement to wear a mask in the lecture rooms and for research and teaching events.
• Exception: In the laboratories and practical courses, the wearing of a face mask is still mandatory after April 2.

Jacobs University`s Academic Leadership Group has developed special “Guidelines for Teaching” for the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find further information in the Jacobs University Academic Polices page.

The safety of all students and employees is very important to us. This also applies to a safe usage of on-campus premises such as offices, seminar and lecture halls as well as storages, recreation and multipurpose rooms.  All of the above-mentioned facilities have been therefore inspected by experts from SVG (Straßenverkehrs-Genossenschaft Bremen eG) with regard to their occupational safety in accordance with the current Corona regulations of the Federal Government and the State of Bremen.

As an international university, members of Jacobs University’s community not only have their roots all over the world – our community members typically also travel a lot.

Regarding business related and private journeys, we kindly ask all members of Jacobs Community – students, their parents, staff, faculty – to take into account that we are dealing with a global pandemic affecting an increasing number of countries worldwide, including Germany, but also many of our students’ home countries. This may impact international air travel and restrict movement through border closures in unforeseen ways. In addition, travel itself may entail a heightened risk. With regard to travel guidelines or regulations, please visit the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), the continuously updated list of risk areas by the German Robert Koch Institute (German speaking), the respective travel information of your home or the information of the respective airlines.

In the event of any COVID-19 cases on campus, we have taken measures to ensure that housing and catering facilities are maintained open as far as possible.

Below, you can find a selection of hotlines that provide information about COVID-19 throughout Germany:

• Independent patient consultation Germany - 0800 011 77 22
• “Citizens' Telephone” by the Federal Ministry of Health - ++49 30 346 465 100
• Consultation service for deaf and hearing-impaired people - Fax: ++49 30 / 340 60 66-07, Mail: info.deaf [at] bmg.bund(dot)de / info.gehoerlos [at] bmg.bund(dot)de
• Sign phone (video telephony) - https://www.gebaerdentelefon.de/bmg

For general questions with regard to the COVID-19, you can reach us at corona [at] jacobs-university.de.

This page will be updated in case of any relevant changes in the risk situation and of any measures introduced by the Federal Republic of Germany, the State of Bremen or Jacobs University.
However, depending on the ever-changing number of new Covid-19 infections in Germany, official regulations can change quickly. We therefore kindly ask you to always also consider official information provided by the German and Bremen authorities to reliably be informed on the latest regulations.