New restrictions at SDU from 19 December 2021

From Sunday 19 December, you must wear a face covering or visor at SDU’s locations. This was evident after the Epidemic Committee of the Danish Parliament decided on new restrictions after a period of an increasing number of COVID-19 cases in society.

Face covering or visor required from 19 December

The face covering mandate includes students, employees and visitors when you are indoors at SDU’s locations. The requirement will apply when you are in a common area, such as a canteen, but not in connection with teaching and exams.

You are allowed to take off your face mask or visor – completely or partly – if you have a good reason to do so, such as to eating or drink.

The requirement to use a face covering or visor at SDU applies from 19 December and four weeks onwards (until further notice).

Changed teaching and exam procedures in January

From January 2022, SDU will also introduce measures in relation to in-person teaching and exams at any of SDU’s locations:

• The teaching is organised in permanent teams wherever practically possible
• Exams are converted to online format wherever practically possible

At SDU, changed approaches in relation to teaching and examinations will take place locally at faculties and on study boards. As a student, you will receive a direct message from your place of study regarding reorganised teaching and exams.

If there are circumstances that make it difficult for you as a student to participate in an exam (converted to online format or a regular in-person exam), you still have the opportunity to send an application for an exemption to your study board and learn which options are available to you. Please submit your application to your study board via SPOC.

Additional inspections of valid corona pass at exams

Simultaneously with the requirement for protective equipment, the authorities have decided to extend the requirement for a valid corona pass by four weeks from 19 December. Access to SDU’s premises will continue to require a valid corona pass from students, staff and visitors. A corona pass is obtained by vaccination, a negative test or if you have been infected within the last 6 months.

Due to the increasing number of infection cases in society, SDU has, from 20 December, decided to tighten up inspections of corona passes among students who are going to sit for a written examination at any of SDU’s locations. The inspections will be performed by exam supervisors. If a student does not have a valid corona pass, they will be expelled from the exam, which will count as an examination attempt. As a student, you can read more about the intensified inspections in our FAQ.

Random checks will still be carried out at SDU to ensure that students, staff and visitors have a valid corona pass. These random inspections are carried out by COVID inspectors with clear markings on their clothes. In this way, you can safely show up on campus in the knowledge that everyone else has also been vaccinated and/or recently tested.

Call for continued remote work and online meetings

SDU’s management strongly encourages employees

• to carry out their work without attending their workplace in person to the extent possible. The individual employee and his/her immediate manager will agree on the details.
• to keep a safe distance from others and ensure cleaning, ventilation and good hygiene at SDU’s locations.
• to convert in-person meetings to online meetings.
• to cancel or postpone social events until a later date.

The situation is being closely monitored

SDU’s management appeals to students and staff to continue to follow the authorities’ recommendations and show consideration by following the University’s principles of caution, inclusiveness and trust.

Any students who become infected with COVID-19 are highly encouraged to register this via the Corona button in SPOC.

Any employees who become infected with COVID-19 are encouraged to follow the normal procedure for notification of illness.

Information about cases of infection at SDU can prove helpful if other students or staff at SDU need to be informed in the event the infected person does not have contact information for any close contacts.

Through the Corona button in SPOC, students can also submit questions that may not have been answered in the FAQ.

In the event of any further measures, the information is announced via SDU’s own channels.

Read more about the coronavirus and the health authorities’ current recommendations at https://coronasmitte.dk/.

Stay informed through our FAQ, which is updated regularly:

For students: https://mitsdu.dk/en/corona
For staff members: https://sdunet.dk/en/corona

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Buchvald Vind
University Director