Both on campus and in exam rooms, the University has taken many different measures to adapt the premises to protect against COVID-19 infection (checklist for examinations). No matter how many measures are deployed, the most important measure is down to you: if you have symptoms, stay home! Do not go to the exam room even if you have an important exam! Do not go to work or to campus if you feel unwell!
The current decision of the Vice-Chancellor from 20 November lists certain educational components that are difficult to perform online and that therefore have to be carried out on campus or in exam rooms.
- Practical tasks that cannot be performed online.
- Examinations that are difficult to carry out online.
- Final exams and mandatory components in the final year of educational programmes.
To further reinforce the measures already taken, four new social distancing wardens are being employed on campus to ensure that everyone keeps a safe distance.
Maximum of 50
There has also been a certain lack of clarity about the rules regarding meetings and public events at the University. Under the latest decision of the Vice- Chancellor from 20 November, the following still applies: The number of participants at meetings at the University is limited to a maximum of 50 people.
The weekly report
To summarise the infection situation, as of 27 November there have been 369 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the semester.
This figure breaks down as follows:
- 320 Bachelor’s and Master’s students (including 5 on Gotland, 2+) – an increase of 25 cases during the last week.
- 8 doctoral students – an increase of 2 cases during the last week.
- 41 members of staff – an increase of 8 cases during the last week.
If you are confirmed infected, the Communicable Diseases Act requires you to inform people who have been in your proximity and whom you may have infected.
Uppsala University has created an online procedure to help you do this anonymously.
If you are confirmed infected with COVID-19, it is very important that you make sure to stay at home: do not go to campus, to exam rooms or to work – and keep up to date with the infection control unit’s rules of conduct.
Across the disciplinary domains
The 320 Bachelor’s and Master’s students confirmed infected are distributed across the disciplinary domains as follows (change from previous week in parentheses):
- Hum/Sam – 138 (+3) confirmed cases
- Med/Farm – 135 (+16) confirmed cases
- Tek/Nat – 47 (+4) confirmed cases
These confirmed cases are still relatively evenly spread across Uppsala University’s various campus areas.
The 369 confirmed cases can be linked to 200 different courses and programmes (different semesters). 54 courses/programmes have more than two confirmed cases.
Managing confirmed infections in education
When an infection is confirmed, the disciplinary domain concerned deals with the question of whether teaching should continue to be conducted on campus (if that is currently being done) or whether there is reason to switch to online education. Region Uppsala carries out contact tracing and contacts the individuals deemed necessary in view of the contacts reported by the infected person. The University has no responsibility for this process.
An increased number of cases in Region Uppsala – decreasing in Region Gotland
Number of people confirmed infected in Region Uppsala: week 45 (2-8 November) 1017, week 46 (9-15 November) 1351, week 47(16-22) November) 1429. This shows a clear negative trend for the number of people infected during the last week in the Uppsala region.
Number of people confirmed infected in Region Gotland: week 45 (2-8 November) 186, week 46 (9-15 November) 237, week 47 (16-22 November) 172. This shows a more positive trend for the number of people infected during the last week in Region Gotland.
Source: Public Health Agency of Sweden
The Communicable Diseases Act requires:
If you are confirmed infected, the Communicable Diseases Act requires you to inform people whom you suspect you may have infected. As part of Uppsala University’s efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection, the University has created an online procedure to help you do this anonymously.
To test or not to test
The infection control doctor in Uppsala County requests those who have been confirmed infected not to get tested again after recovering from COVID-19. Doing so has no medical benefits and is an unnecessary drain on testing resources. Resources for PCR testing in Region Uppsala are under great strain.
The previously announced guidelines for reducing the spread of COVID-19 infection remain in effect.
Vice-Chancellor´s decision on COVID-19.