“At the University we seem to have reached a bit of a plateau which we hope will give way to a further decline in numbers next week,” says Fredrik Blomkvist, chief security officer and coronavirus coordinator at the University.
In week 17 (26 April–2 May) 21 students and 7 employees were reported with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Uppsala. In Gotland county, the situation remains strained, but Campus Gotland has had relatively few confirmed cases of COVID-19, and this remains true in week 17.
At University-wide level, meanwhile, activities are in progress relating to life/work after COVID-19.
“The University Management Team is currently preparing the upcoming decision that will set out the rules for operations after 30 June. As things stand, a decision is expected on 18 May.”
A working group at the Planning Division is also addressing a broad range of issues relating to experiences gained and their implementation in a number of core areas such as education, research, homeworking versus on-site working, students’ health and work environment, and use of premises.
“Let me add that we want to say a big thank you, especially to all the students, who dealt with 30 April in an exemplary way, with great responsibility. You have proved once again that generalisations about groups are never useful. We are proud of you. You are a large part of the basis for our operations.”
Infection status report
To summarise the infection situation, as of 7 May, there have been 904 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Uppsala University since the start of the 2020 autumn semester.
This figure breaks down as follows:
- 705 Bachelor’s and Master’s students – an increase of 21 cases
- 15 doctoral students – no increase
- 184 members of staff – an increase of 7 cases
If you are confirmed infected with COVID-19, 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, exam rooms or work. And keep up to date with the current rules of conduct.
Breakdown by disciplinary domain
The 705 Bachelor’s and Master’s students confirmed infected are distributed across the disciplinary domains as follows (change from previous week in parentheses):
- Hum/Sam – 279 (+7) confirmed cases
- Med/Farm – 298 (+8) confirmed cases
- Tek/Nat – 128 (+6) 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.
Information concerning international students and staff
International employees and students who need to have a COVID-19 test cannot make an appointment via 1177.
Anyone in this group should call (Region Uppsala) 018-617 35 64 to make an appointment.
The number in Region Gotland is 0498-26 89 31.
Number of cases in Region Uppsala and Region Gotland
Number of people confirmed infected in Region Uppsala: week 15 (12-18 April) – 1762, week 16 (19-25 April) – 1640 and week 17 (26 April - 2 May) – 1359.
Number of people confirmed infected in Region Gotland: week 15 (12-18 April) – 182, week 16 (19-25 April) – 130 and week 17 (26 April - 2 May) – 81.
Source: Public Health Agency of Sweden
Number of people vaccinated in Uppsala County
On 6 May, 101,403 residents (+19,275) had received their first dose of vaccine and 29,421 (+423) of these had also received their second dose.
Number of people vaccinated in Gotland County
On 6 May, 26,835 residents (+2,296) had received vaccine.
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.
Read the decision of the Vice-Chancellor on advice for reducing the spread of infect