Dear staff,

[sorry for the delay]

The ministry has now formally granted permission to the universities to begin partially reopening research labs, to an extent determined by the ministry. The reopening applies to research activities above and beyond critical functions in addition to coronavirus-related research that is already in progress.

I would like to stress that this partial reopening will be extremely limited and closely coordinated, not only with the other Danish universities, but also across AU’s faculties in a manner determined by the senior management team. The limited reopening only applies to lab work. All other work than agreed lab work must still be performed from home.

The partial reopening will apply to specific individual researchers, including postdocs and PhD students, in addition to technical support staff. In addition, a limited number of Master's thesis students will be given access. These are students whose projects are particularly dependent on access to labs for their completion. Master’s thesis students will be given access by agreement between the head of department and the thesis supervisor.

The partial reopening will begin on Thursday 23 April.

Together with the dean, I have developed a plan for how our faculty will use this limited access to our labs. It has been necessary to make some tough choices. You will hear from me again today [which now was yesterday] if you are one of the employees who will be given access to the labs.

Information on the guidelines that will apply to lab work during this period will be sent out later today. The absolute, non-negotiable condition for the reopening is that we must take the necessary precautions to avoid spreading the virus. And the major reason we are not being given full access to our labs is to help prevent the spread of the virus in society at large. In some places, it will be necessary to schedule access at different times of the day if having everyone present at the same time would be unsafe. All staff who come back to work in the labs must respect the guidelines that will be announced. There will also be an extra focus on cleaning.

Yours sincerely, 

Ulrik

From: Ulrik Ingerslev Uggerhøj <ulrik@phys.au.dk>
Date: Wednesday, 22 April 2020 at 13.26
To: #PHYS vip all <vip-all@phys.au.dk>, #PHYS tap all <tap-all@phys.au.dk>, #PHYS phd all <phd-all@phys.au.dk>
Subject: Genåbning, 1. fase/Reopening, 1st phase

Kære medarbejdere.

Det er nu givet endeligt grønt lys fra Uddannelses- og Forskningsministeriet til, at universiteterne kan sætte gang i en delvis genåbning af forskningslaboratorierne, som i omfang er fastsat af ministeriet. Det er forskningsaktiviteter, som ligger ud over varetagelse af de kritiske funktioner samt den corona-relaterede forskning, som allerede er i gang.

Den delvise genåbning er dog meget begrænset og koordineret, ikke bare universiteterne imellem, men også fakulteterne imellem på AU via universitetsledelsen. Det er alene arbejde i laboratorier, der nu gives adgang til. Alt andet arbejde end aftalt laboratoriearbejde skal fortsat udføres hjemmefra. 

Den delvise genåbning vil omfatte enkelte forskere, herunder postdocer og ph.d.-studerende, samt fx laboranter og teknikere. Herudover kommer et begrænset antal specialestuderende, som er særligt afhængige af laboratorier med henblik på at sikre progression i deres projekter. Adgang for specialestuderende aftales mellem institutleder og specialevejleder.

Den delvise genåbning sættes i gang fra torsdag den 23. april.

Jeg har sammen med dekanen lagt en plan for, hvordan vi på fakultetet bruger denne begrænsede adgang. Der er nødvendigt med en hård prioritering. I hører nærmere fra mig i løbet af i dag, hvis I er blandt de medarbejdere, som nu igen får adgang til laboratorierne.

Senere i dag kommer der nærmere om, hvilke retningslinjer der vil gælde for arbejdet i laboratorierne. Det ubetingede, overordnede krav er, at der tages nødvendige forbehold for at undgå smitte, og hensynet til smittespredning i samfundet er afgørende for, at der ikke bliver givet fuld adgang i laboratorierne. Nogle steder vil det være nødvendigt at tilrettelægge adgang på forskellige tidspunkter af dagen, hvis det ikke er forsvarligt at have alle tilstede på samme tid. Alle medarbejdere, der nu kommer tilbage i laboratorierne, skal respektere de retningslinjer, som bliver meldt nærmere ud. Der vil desuden være ekstra fokus på rengøring.

Mvh. Ulrik

English version soon to follow