Return to remote working from home and only academic events allowed
As of Monday, all ETH employees will be required to work from home again. Most buildings will only be accessible using an ETH card and will now only be open for academic events. In-person teaching and examination sessions for the Autumn Semester can finish as planned.
ETH Zurich is updating its coronavirus rules to bring them in line with the latest regulations announced by the Federal Council. These measures come into force on Monday 20th December. The master plan will be updated over the course of the week and published on the Coronavirus website.
Working from home is mandatory again
Having already tightened the rules for remote working (“home office”) at the start of December, ETH now requires all employees in principle to work from home again, starting on Monday. The only exceptions are staff who cannot carry out their work from home due to operational reasons. Exemptions apply, for example, to experimental teaching and research, industry partnerships, spin-off companies, workshops, counter services, and all activities connected with teaching and examinations. Apprentices and their supervisors may also continue to work on site. In every case, face masks must be worn at all times, unless there is only one occupant in a room. Precautions should be taken to ensure that as few people as possible are present in one room at the same time.
Autumn Semester to finish as planned
As far as classroom teaching is concerned, the new rules announced by the Federal Council allow in-person teaching to continue up to the end of Autumn Semester 2021, subject to existing rules (all attendees must be tested, vaccinated or recovered from Covid – “3G”). Covid certificates are also compulsory for semester performance assessments in teaching events, even if these take the form of an examination.
Lecturers can hold end-of-semester examinations as planned, either remotely or in person. Students will attend the entrance exams starting mid-January, as well as the Winter 2021/22 exam session, in person . A Covid certificate is now required for end-of-semester and entrance exams. A decision on whether a certificate will also be required for the Winter 2021/22 exam session cannot be taken until January.
“The ETH Executive Board and the Coronavirus crisis management team are doing everything in their power to ensure the next semester goes ahead with as much in-person teaching as possible.”Vice President and head of the crisis management team, Ulrich Weidmann
Whether classroom teaching can go ahead as planned in the forthcoming Spring Semester starting on 21 February 2022 depends on future decisions by the government or the Canton of Zurich. “The ETH Executive Board and the Coronavirus crisis management team are doing everything in their power to ensure the next semester goes ahead with as much in-person teaching as possible,” emphasises Vice President Ulrich Weidmann, head of the crisis management team, particularly as it has been clearly demonstrated that universities are not among the drivers of the pandemic, thanks to their rigorous safety precautions.
Testing even more important
As before, ETH members will still be able to attend in-person teaching events without a certificate if tested through the university’s internal mass testing programme, CoVMass. In addition to this facility, two centres offer rapid antigen tests every Monday in the Main Building on Zentrum campus and on Hönggerberg campus. Information on both test facilities can also be found on the Coronavirus website. We advise all ETH members who have to work on site for operational reasons to take a free PCR saliva test at the CoVMass facility once a week, irrespective of their vaccination status.
Buildings closed
With everyone required to work from home, many offices and administration buildings will be virtually empty. As a result, the Executive Board has decided to close all buildings in principle, for security reasons. The only exceptions are the Main Building, housing the ETH Library and the Rector’s Office service counters, the ASVZ facilities and (up to 24 December 2021) all buildings in which teaching events or exams are held, including the HIL Building housing the Architecture and Civil Engineering Library. Access to other buildings is permitted with the ETH card and access code.
“We genuinely regret having to tighten the measures, as we know the pandemic is putting an enormous strain on many ETH members.”Ueli Weidmann
Catering, sports and events
The introduction of mandatory working from home presents major challenges for catering services, which will have to cut back their offering on both Zentrum and Hönggerberg campuses. Current information on available services can be found on the Gastronomy website.
Under current regulations, ASVZ can continue to operate as before. Now, however, ETH members will only be admitted if vaccinated or previously recovered from Covid (“2G”). In addition, face masks must be worn everywhere – even when exercising. Because of this, certain facilities may have to be suspended. Current information can be found on the external page ASVZ website.
From Monday 20 December onwards, only indoor or outdoor academic events without catering will be allowed on campus and they must follow new government rules (vaccinated or recovered, “2G”). Food and drink may only be consumed in ETH catering facilities, while seated. “In this way we are responding to the critical pandemic situation,” says Ulrich Weidmann in explaining this measure. Because of the critical situation, planned Christmas events cannot go ahead in university buildings, either. For all such events held externally in the final week before Christmas, the Executive Board calls upon all supervisors to exercise great restraint in the way they are managed.
New regime initially applies until 24 January
The new measures will initially apply until 24 January 2022, running in parallel with the respective government regulations. “We genuinely regret having to tighten the measures, as we know the pandemic is putting an enormous strain on many ETH members,” Weidmann admits. He asks managers, in particular, to make sure they stay connected with their staff. “Keep in touch online, at least, but also perhaps take a walk or coffee together occasionally, as long as physical distancing rules are observed,” he suggests.