Working from home: now recommended, not mandatory
The Federal Council has decided to relax coronavirus restrictions. This means that working from home is no longer required for ETH staff, only recommended. Furthermore, it is no longer a requirement to quarantine after being in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19.
Working from home is now recommended, not mandatory: what does this mean for staff who have been strictly working from home until now? “This means, for instance, that employees who are more productive in the office can now return to ETH for a couple of days per week,” explains Vice President Ulrich Weidmann, head of the Crisis Management team. He went on to add that this also applies to staff who would like to benefit from face-to-face contact and in-person interaction with their colleagues.
Returning to the office a couple of days per week
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Board, Weidmann encourages employees to make use of the new opportunities posed by the relaxed rules. “We don’t want to force anyone to return to the workplace, as the situation is still fragile,” he says. However, Weidmann points out that a couple of days back in the office can help boost team spirit among colleagues. He emphasised that the requirement to wear a mask is still in place in all rooms with more than one person present.
Masks instead of quarantine
Another new rule is that people who have been in close contact with a sick person no longer have to go into quarantine. However, people who come to ETH after having had close contact with a sick person will need to observe a strict mask-wearing requirement for ten days. This means that they wouldn’t be permited to have coffee or lunch with co-workers, since that entails removing one’s mask. The university is also asking people to get tested four to six days after being in close contact with a person with COVID-19. Antigen testing facilities are available on both the Zentrum and Hönggerberg campus for this purpose.
Weidmann recommends that anyone coming to ETH regularly should make use of the CoVMass testing programme once per week. “If you have symptoms that indicate a possible COVID infection, you shouldn’t come to ETH, but rather go to your nearest testing centre,” stresses Weidmann.
New master plan at the start of the semester
The Federal Council has indicated that restrictions will likely be relaxed further. ETH Zurich will implement these changes when it updates its coronavirus master plan with effect from the start of the Spring Semester. The next master plan update is scheduled for 21 February.