If you have Covid-19-like symptoms like e.g. cough, sore throat, rhinitis, fever, loss of smell/taste, diarrhoea, or have been tested positive for Covid-19 please follow the steps indicated in the workflow.

Please note:

For all employees working in the CECAD Research Center - independent of their affiliation …

• The person management/infection control center of the University Hospital is responsible to treat a suspect or positive case of Covid-19
• You can get tested by the infection control center of the University Hospital (Haus 16), see Corona Webtool

If you are not sure if you are infected

• We recommend to get tested at Haus 16 - results are in general provided within one day!
• Please do not come to work till you received the negative test result and keep your superior updated. 

Please note:

• If you are not sure whether you are infected, we recommend to get tested at Haus 16 - results are usually provided within one day!
• Please do not come to work till you received the test result and keep your superior informed
• Please also find the necessary steps to be taken in this workflow

Meetings/sessions at CECAD – Reminder!

• Only meet in person when absolutely necessary!
  Compelling reasons and the absence of alternative formats are a prerequisite for face-to-face meetings and assemblies (and must therefore be approved upon request)

• At CECAD only the following rooms can be used for meetings. Please reserve them in advance! The maximum number of people allowed must be taken into account

Lecture hall (maximum of 9 people),

Seminar room 1.034 (maximum of 6 people),

Small seminar rooms EG.040 & EG.039 or EG.038 & EG.037 (maximum of 3 people)

• You must document essential information including names of attendees to enable contact tracing when necessary 

• Max. 2 external participants are allowed at the same time.

Procedure:

1. In Advance: Book room through the CECAD booking system and inform Office (mail to maria.vilgertshofer@uk-koeln.de)
2. Please monitor the meeting with “meeting/visitors’ sheet” and leave a copy for the Central Office c/o Maria Vilgertshofer at the entrance or CECAD’s letter box (outside of the building, left side of the main entrance). This meeting information sheet is available here
3. Safety and hygiene rules have to be strictly followed

External visitors

• External visitors are not allowed with the following exceptions:

- Safety measures in the CECAD building (organized by medfacilities)

- Technical repairs in the facilities or labs (organized individually)

- Job interviews

- Master students (for their lab working period)

- Guest scientists (if they work at CECAD for a limited time period)

• Max. 2 external visitors are allowed at the same time.
• Please make also sure to collect all dates when guests are in the CECAD building.
  Use the meetings/visitors sheet available here

For all other visitors, permission must be granted by CECAD Leadership. Please send request to sgrandel@uni-koeln.de

Procedure

1. Please inform the entrance at least 2-3 days in advance
2. In Advance if applicable: Book room through the CECAD booking system and inform Office (mail to maria.vilgertshofer@uk-koeln.de)
3. Pick up the visitor(s) at the CECAD entrance and walk him/her out when work/meeting is finished
4. Use the “meeting/visitors’ sheet” to document visit and leave a copy for the Central Office c/o Maria Vilgertshofer at the entrance or CECAD’s letter box (outside of the building, left side of the main entrance). This meeting information sheet is available here
5. Safety and hygiene rules have to be strictly followed!

General work safety

Reminder! - All persons active at the University are obliged to observe the general hygiene rules

• If you have any sign of acold, fever, chills, cough, running nose, headache, flu-like symptoms you need to stay at home and inform your PI/lab-head
• Wear a mouth-nose-cover at all times when on the UoC and UKK campus and in the building
• Please keep always a minimum distance of at least 1.5 m to other people
• All rooms must be ventilated regularly and sufficiently by the users
• Do home office whenever possible, only come to CECAD when required to do practical work

Working at CECAD in offices, workshops and labs

• Rules for number of people per room

• In CECAD laboratory space, there is no longer a limit on the number of people, provided that the minimumdistance of 1.5 meters is maintained and the labs have enough airflow to work safely, which is the case for the CECAD Research Center.  Please organise processes and work flow accordingly, to enable people to keep this minimal distance requirements. The Medical Faculty recommends to provide a space of at least 7 m²/person in labs.
• In office space/writing areas, an area of at least 12.5 m² must be available for each person. In addition, the minimum distance must be guaranteed. If the room is permanently used by more than one person, the distance between work desks/places should be greater than the minimum distance
• The presence of people in shared lab/office/seminar rooms etc. should be documented at all times. Install shifts where ever possible to enable hygiene rules and efficient work flows

We recommend that each floor installs a general hygiene plan that guarantees that in common rooms (cell culture, -80 rooms etc.) distance and number of people present are according to the above rules.

Please document contacts when you share common rooms!

• Working in laboratories - Mouth-nose covers 

According to supplementary Corona risk assessment by UoC (version 22.5.2020)¹

NEW: “If the responsible working group leader estimates the risk of infection wearing no mouth-nose protection higher than the risk of infection by the hazardous substances actually used, suitable² mouth-nose covers can also be worn in S1/S2 laboratories. This was the case according to the previous hazard assessment and has not changed with the current, revised Corona specific template.” ³

(See also updated version of Corona risk assessment by UOC as at 08.10.2020).

The CECAD management thus recommends to work with one-way masks or suitable mouth-nose covers³ in the S1/S2 labs. Please leave these masks in the S1/S2 labs and use a different mask/cover in all other non-S1/S2 areas of the CECAD building.

Supplements:

1 The Corona specific Hazard assessment developed by the accident insurance has provided and continues to provide as standard measure not to wear a mouth-nose protection for laboratory activities which involve working with hazardous substances, bio-substances, genetic engineering and radioactivity, as care must be taken to ensure that the protective measures against the corona virus SARS-CoV-2 do not conflict with other necessary and customary protective measures. This standard measure is valid provided that the minimum distance is maintained, the rooms are technically ventilated and that the possibility of exposure to hazardous substances is avoided. The risk assessment template does not differentiate with regard to the hazardous substances and quantities actually present in the laboratory or the way in which they are handled.

2 Cotton content > 30%, no tubular scarves/towels (addition: this is valid for those masks, which have been provided by CECAD to its employees).

³ This does not take into account possible specifications from the BioStoffV or genetic engineering law, which may stipulate the wearing of disposable articles (surgical masks) to protect against smear infections.

Supplementary Corona Risk Assessment  

Regulations apply according to the affiliation of the CECAD working groups. Supplementary Corona risk assessment must be carried out for all workplaces.

•  Working in laboratories - Mouth-nose covers 

According to supplementary Corona risk assessment by UoC (version 22.5.2020)¹

NEW: “If the responsible working group leader estimates the risk of infection wearing no mouth-nose protection higher than the risk of infection by the hazardous substances actually used, suitable² mouth-nose covers can also be worn in S1/S2 laboratories. This was the case according to the previous hazard assessment and has not changed with the current, revised Corona specific template.” ³

(See also updated version of Corona risk assessment by UoC as at 08.10.2020).

The CECAD management thus recommends to work with one-way masks or suitable mouth-nose covers³ in the S1/S2 labs. Please leave these masks in the S1/S2 labs and use a different mask/cover in all other non-S1/S2 areas of the CECAD building.

Supplements:

1 The Corona specific Hazard assessment developed by the accident insurance has provided and continues to provide as standard measure not to wear a mouth-nose protection for laboratory activities which involve working with hazardous substances, bio-substances, genetic engineering and radioactivity, as care must be taken to ensure that the protective measures against the corona virus SARS-CoV-2 do not conflict with other necessary and customary protective measures. This standard measure is valid provided that the minimum distance is maintained, the rooms are technically ventilated and that the possibility of exposure to hazardous substances is avoided. The risk assessment template does not differentiate with regard to the hazardous substances and quantities actually present in the laboratory or the way in which they are handled.

2 Cotton content > 30%, no tubular scarves/towels (addition: this is valid for those masks, which have been provided by CECAD to its employees).

³ This does not take into account possible specifications from the BioStoffV or genetic engineering law, which may stipulate the wearing of disposable articles (surgical masks) to protect against smear infections.

Business trips

Regulations and approval of business trips apply according to the affiliation of the CECAD work groups

Please always check the current state of travel regulations on the website of the University/Medical Faculty, as they may change very fast!

Please note:

• If you are not sure whether you are infected, we recommend to get tested at Haus 16 - results are usually provided within one day!
• Please do not come to work till you received the test result and keep your superior informed
• Please also find the necessary steps to be taken in this workflow