General information

Symptoms and transmission

As with other respiratory diseases, an infection with the corona virus can lead to symptoms such as coughing, sore throat, fever, shortness of breath and runny nose; some sufferers also suffer from diarrhea. The vast majority of infections are mild, which makes it all the more difficult to quickly assess a possible infection with the virus. However, particularly in patients at risk, older people and/or those with chronic illnesses, there can be serious cases of respiratory problems and pneumonia. Deaths have so far occurred mainly in patients who were older and/or previously suffered from underlying chronic diseases.

The pathogen is transmissible from person to person. It has now been detected in all regions of the world, and the number of people suffering from pneumonia is rising massively.
The University does not publish figures on confirmed corona cases, but it does inform all relevant areas about identifying contact persons.

Prevention

For your own protection, but also to avoid spreading the virus as far as possible, please follow the hygiene recommendations as they are presented on this website and on the posters posted in all areas of the university. They correspond to the recommendations of the virological experts. With these simple, personal hygiene measures, you can help protect yourself and others from contagious infectious diseases and the health care system from being overburdened.

Regular, thorough cleaning of the hands (also nails) with soap
keep hands away from your face
Abstain from shaking hands in greeting
Observe coughing and sneezing etiquette (coughing away from other people, sneezing into a disposable handkerchief or into the crook of your arm, not into the palm of your hand)
Keep a distance of about 1 to 2 meters from sick persons
Ensure general cleanliness and hygiene of everyday objects and ventilation of premises
If not already done, vaccination against influenza, because given the similarity of the symptoms of corona virus and flu infection, patients with a “common” flu could be mistakenly placed in an isolated hospital ward.
Avoid unnecessary social contact.

Conduct when you have symptoms

All those who are currently developing symptoms of the disease should urgently stay at home and cure the disease.

A test should be arranged if:

you have been in contact with a patient who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the laboratory within the last two weeks
you were in an area where many COVID-19 diseases have already occurred
there is a previous illness or the respiratory disease is getting worse (shortness of breath, high fever etc.)
you come into contact with people at work or in voluntary work who are at high risk of serious illness (e.g. in hospital or care of the elderly)

Even before the test result is available, you should isolate yourself. This means: stay at home, avoid all close contact under 2 meters, maintain good hand hygiene and - if available - wear a mouth and nose protector when in contact with others.

Supervisors should advise sick persons of the above-mentioned conduct recommendations and ensure that concrete suspected or confirmed corona cases are reported to the company medical service and/or the coordination team of the Rectorate.

Students who have texted positive for COVID-19 are requested to inform their degree program coordinator and the coordination team.

Persons who have had contact with an infected person within the last 14 days, or who themselves show symptoms of a respiratory tract infection or increased temperature, are still prohibited from entering University buildings on the basis of the State of Baden-Württemberg's Corona Ordinance (§ 7).

Access to University facilities

The University buildings may currently only be entered for official purposes, to deal with study matters or for other important matters. All University buildings are closed to the public until further notice.

Due to the stricter security requirements by the state, building access is only possible with a UniCard and an authorization level for 24-hour access and, if necessary, with keys starting March 23, 2020. Employees who require access for important business matters, but whose UniCard has not been activated to this extent up to now, are requested to apply for an extended authorization level. The responsible supervisors or the respective institute administrative office can apply for activation via the e-mail address zutritt@zv.uni-freiburg.de. For this purpose, the respective University Library account number and the area to be activated must be specified. The lock administrator will inform the users about the activation. In the meantime, they can access the buildings through authorized colleagues.

Information about SARS-CoV-2 for pregnant and nursing women

As a pregnant woman, do I have a higher risk from COVID-19 disease than other women? What is the risk for my unborn child? These and many other questions are answered in an information paper (as of April 14, 2020) of the Maternity Protection Committee.

Within the framework of the risk assessment, which the University is obliged to prepare immediately after receipt of a notification of pregnancy or lactation, possible infection risks from SARS-CoV-2 are naturally taken into account.

Why won’t the University provide disinfectant dispensers?

Good hand hygiene is important – and washing your hands with soap and water is sufficient.

Therefore, it has been deliberate that NO disinfectant dispensers have been installed in university buildings. This unfortunately widespread public conduct has resulted in supply shortages, theft and an impertinent secondary trade that has led and continues to lead to a shortage of disinfectants in hospitals and care facilities for months without having had any influence on the spread of the virus. And it is precisely in hospitals and care facilities where work steps are required in quick succession that there is now a shortage of hand disinfectants.

The corona virus can be neutralized very well with soap and household cleaners (also dish detergent). Hand disinfection or wearing gloves has a strong psychological component. However, the actual importance of hand disinfection or the wearing of gloves for the risk of infection should never be overestimated and those present should not be led into false security. The Robert Koch Institute as well as other experts and institutions classify droplet infection (i.e. direct contact with small droplets that are produced when speaking, coughing or sneezing and are transmitted over short distances) as the main transmission route. These droplets only stay in the air for a very short time (a few minutes to a few hours). Transmission by smear infection (virus-containing secretions) via the hands, which are brought into contact with the mucous membranes of the mouth or nose and the conjunctiva of the eyes, cannot be ruled out in principle, but probably plays only a minor role. In reality, so-called infection chains could very often be discovered, i.e. before an infection, direct contact with an infected person took place, transmission via inanimate surfaces has not been documented to date. Even if infection via inanimate surfaces is to be regarded as unlikely, thorough hand washing provides effective protection in this case. Objects that come into direct contact with the face (headsets, goggles, telephone, glasses and cups) should not be shared by several people, or should be thoroughly cleaned regularly. However, cleaning with household detergent also leads to an effective reduction of the number of pathogens on surfaces.

Gender and diversity at the university in times of pandemic

Information on aspects of equality and diversity is currently available at www.diversity.uni-freiburg.de.