News

Uppdated Coronainformation

Published: 08 December 2021

Due to the amended recommendations from the Swedish Public Health Agency and the government, which will come into force on 8th of December, in order to reduce the spread of covid-19 disease, the SLU corona management team interprets the practical implications for our activities as follows.

Higher education institutions are to maintain their core activities.

Work from home

The government encourages employees to work from home to some extent. Activities that need to take place on campus are prioritised. To make this easier to implement, the requirement to spend 2 days/week on campus is removed. Stay at home with even the slightest symptoms.

Public defences of doctoral theses

Public defences of doctoral theses need to take place in a way that prevents the spread of infection. This may mean limiting the number of people who can attend, or booking a larger room. We should continue to offer the option of attending a defence online.

Teaching and examination

There will be no changes to the instructions for teaching and examination, but teaching needs to be carried out in a way that minimises the spread of infection.

Because of the request to avoid larger gatherings, we recommend, where possible, the transition to online teaching if teaching larger groups cannot be carried out in a way that minimises the spread of infection. The Public Health Agency has not yet defined what they mean by ‘larger gathering’. Course coordinators will need to make decisions based on e.g. the size of classrooms. This will apply until the Christmas holidays.

Examinations and practical components will be prioritised and still take place with a physical presence, even for larger groups. To minimise the spread of infection, face masks will be offered at exams. Encourage all students to use them!

Christmas parties

The way we interpret the new restrictions, no general ban is needed at SLU, but we need to make careful decisions in each case. Christmas parties and similar events need to take place in a way that minimises the spread of infection. If this is not possible, the event should be cancelled.
 

Some organisational units have planned Christmas celebrations in connection with planning days. In those cases, managers will need to do a risk and impact assessment, assess the needs and whether it will be possible for activities to be carried out in a way that minimises the spread of infection.