Coronavirus - updated May 5

The obligation to wear respirators on all UCT Prague premises has been abolished starting March 28, 2022. Students and employees are still encouraged to follow basic hygiene rules, keep as much distance from others as possible, and not come to campus if you are suffering from a respiratory illness. Considerate behaviour towards other colleagues is an essential tool in preventing restrictive epidemiological measures.

On February 18, 2022, mandatory testing of employees at their place of employment has ended. From February 19, 2022, only doctors can approve sick leave. People who are exposed to others with COVID-19 will no longer have a mandatory quarantine period, and contact tracing will be terminated.

• Detailed information about testing on intranet

• COVID – Procedure for self-testing
• Acknowledgment of receipt of antigen test kits (February)
• Information on processing of employees personal data in connection with mandatory tests

UCT Prague’s leadership has decided that the following rules and regulations will apply to the upcoming examination period:

• Mandatory use of respirators by employers and students inside university buildings still applies
• We recommend limiting auditorium capacities to 50% during lectures
• The form of examination is in the purview of subject guarantors, who are obliged to inform students about the form of an exam in advance. In-person examination is preferred
• Auditoriums will be regularly disinfected and we also recommend frequent ventilation
• If the pandemic situation does not worsen, the examination period will not be extended

Please note that the university’s leadership is closely monitoring the situation in relation to the new Omicron variant and is ready to react quickly and adjust the rules if necessary. As in the past, any restrictions will continue to be tied to government, ministry, and health station regulations. Therefore, please stay tuned to your email inboxes and the university website, where you will be informed of any changes as soon as possible.

With regard to the unfavourable development of the pandemic, the university leadership has issued the following preventive recommendations with the aim of maintaining laboratory, practical, and project instruction in in-person form and, at the same time, to enable the examination period to proceed in in-person form.

Doctoral studies

Starting November 22, 2021, until further notice, doctoral students may, in agreement with their supervisor and departmental head, conduct part of their research activities in “home office” form. Upon agreement with students, doctoral instruction can be converted into hybrid or online forms.

Master studies

Starting November 22, 2021, until further notice, the university management is allowing the heads of departments and study program guarantors to switch to online forms of education as a substitute for lectures and exercises taught in lecture halls and classrooms, taking into account the possible health risks to instructors and students. Moving to the online form must be in accordance with the schedule and related subjects on a given day, and must not interfere with instructional schedules, if the subject is part of several study programs. The decision to move to online instruction is the responsibility of the guarantor of the study program in agreement with the head of the department, and students must be informed about the transition in advance. In-person student examinations are possible when maintaining a maximum number of 10 people in a room.

Bachelor studies

Instruction will continue in in-person form without any changes.

ATTENTION:

In the event of an acute worsening of the epidemic situation at UCT Prague, the above recommendations for Master and doctoral studies will become mandatory.

At the same time, the following measures concerning Bachelor studies would also also enter into force:

• 2nd and 3rd year students: by the end of the instructional part of the winter semester (December 17, 2021), lectures and exercises taking place in lecture rooms and classrooms would be completely transferred to online form. Laboratory, practical, and project instruction would not be affected by this measure.
• 1st years: teaching would continue in in-person form without any changes.
• Student examinations would be possible in person when maintaining a maximum number of 10 people in a room.

The implementation of these measures may take place very quickly if the situation worsens, within 72 hours after a decision by the university leadership. Therefore, please be prepared for this possible variant.

In connection with the deteriorating epidemiological situation, I would like to draw your attention to the emergency measure of the Ministry of Health (15757/2020 - 60/MIN/KAN from October 22, 2021), which is effective starting October 25, 2021.

According to this measure, the use of protective equipment indoors is required, notably:

• Respirators must be used in all rooms unless the employee is alone in a room or maintain a distance of at least 1.5 metres from other employees.
• “Respirator” means a protective device that meets at least all technical conditions and requirements, including a filtration efficiency of at least 94%, according to relevant standards (e.g., FFP2, KN 95). Therefore, ordinary face masks or other face covers cannot be used.
• At UCT Prague it is still necessary to wear respirators in common areas, auditoriums, and classrooms at UCT Prague.
• Respective exceptions in connection with instructional activities continue to apply - Wearing respirators does not apply to lecturers if a safe distance from students is possible in auditoriums, and, in selected laboratories, for work safety reasons as well as during physical education instruction. The obligation to use respirators during laboratory instruction will be regulated by laboratory guarantors. During exams, if a distance of at least 1.5 m is maintained, there is no obligation to use respirators.

At the same time, we would like to point out that employees can, through the managers of their departments and faculties, request the provision of respirators from the stock of the central warehouse.

With the Winter Semester, the new 2021/2022 UCT Prague Academic Year is starting on Monday, September 13, so we would like to remind you about the current COVID-19 restrictions.

1) Instruction will take place in-person.

2) Wearing respirators without an exhalation valve and with a filtration efficiency of at least 94% according to the relevant standards (or a similar device meeting these technical conditions and requirements) is mandatory in public indoor areas, auditoriums, and classrooms at UCT Prague. Wearing respirators does not apply to lecturers if a safe distance from students is possible in auditoriums, and, in selected laboratories, for work safety reasons as well as during physical education instruction. The obligation to use respirators during laboratory instruction will be regulated by laboratory guarantors. During exams, if a distance of at least 1.5 m is maintained, there is no obligation to use respirators.

3) “Vaccinated, tested, recovered,” (VTR; “OTN” in Czech) regimes will not be required in common areas, auditoriums, or classrooms, but you must wear respirators in these areas and not to enter UCT Prague buildings if you have symptoms of respiratory disease. VTR regimes will be required for admission to laboratory instruction for the first two teaching weeks of the semester. After this period, VTR regimes will be replaced by measuring individual’s temperatures at the entrance to laboratories (additional information for instructors and heads of departments - thermometers will be provided by the Rector’s Office).

4) Each time when you enter practical training sessions and laboratories, you must sign the attendance lists due to possible contact tracing later.

5) UCT Prague closed its own test site for students and employees in June 2021 and does not currently plan to reopen it.

Of course, the above regulations may change over time depending on the status of the epidemic and regulations provided by the national government, its ministries, or the health department.