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Protocol to follow in the university’s sites during the state of emergency in academic year 2020/2021

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PROTOCOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY MEDICINE BUDAPEST

FOR THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW IN THE UNIVERSITY’S SITES DURING THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ACADEMIC YEAR 2020/2021

With regard to Govt. Decree No. 478/2020 (3 November) declaring a state of public health emergency, this protocol is issued in order to protect the staff and students of the University of Veterinary Medicine, ensure the continuity of education and efficiently organize the defence against COVID-19 to prevent it from appearing at our University.

Pursuant to Govt. Decree No. 484/2020 (10 November) on the second phase of the protective measures to be applied in the state of public health emergency (hereinafter: Govt. Decree), education may continue online in higher education institutions. As a general rule, education must be conducted online. In particular justified cases, the Minister in charge of higher education (hereinafter: Minister) may decide to exempt an institution from this rule upon such request from the Rector of the higher education institution.

This protocol shall remain in effect until amendment or revocation. Potential amendments may be made subject to the progress of the state of public health emergency and in consideration of the experience gained. Such amendments shall be communicated to the University’s staff and students. The protocol’s geographical scope covers all the operational and educational sites of the University as well as all the institutions/facilities maintained and operated by the University.

The Rector is responsible for ordering and introducing the protocol. Its implementation is supervised and controlled by the IT and Security Director (hereinafter: Director) whereas its application is carried out by the Heads of the Organizational Units.

 

1.      ENTERING UNIVERSITY PREMISES, ACCESS CONTROL

 

  • All individuals are required to comply with the preventive health measures, instructions and guidelines.
  • The University Campus at 2 István Street 1078 Budapest may only be entered via the István Street gate. The reception at Bethlen Gábor Street and the gate at Dembinszky Street will be closed until further notice, they may only be opened by the security staff in special cases, with a prior permission. Entry into the University area is conducted according to the original procedure.
  • Additional access limitations and/or control points will be determined and established as needed.
  • You are REQUIRED to wear such a medical mask, occupational safety mask or a mask made of textile or other material (hereinafter: mask) that continuously covers your nose and mouth. Clients coming to the Outpatient Clinic are also required to wear a mask. The Director is responsible for setting up the warning decorations and supervising compliance with the regulation.
  • The sites, buildings and classes of the University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest may only be visited by healthy individuals who do not demonstrate any symptoms of the COVID-19 disease. The symptoms of the disease are listed in Annex No. 1. Instructors detecting symptoms in students must report the case to the Director so that the NHPC could ensure the medical examination according to the effective order of procedures. Students and staff members are required to notify the University of any suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 infection in their immediate environment. They must report such cases of students and staff members as well.
  • You can only enter the University premises if your body temperature does not exceed the value determined by the Chief Medical Officer of Hungary (8 degrees Celsius). The measurement is taken by the security staff.

 

2.      REGULATIONS TO CREATE A SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN ORDER TO CONDUCT THEIR ACTIVITIES

 The University’s staff members and students are all required to comply with the regulations on personal hygiene. These requirements include frequent washing of the hands with soap or cleaning them with alcohol-based disinfectant; maintaining a coughing etiquette and refraining from the unnecessary touching of the face as well as complying with the rules of mask wearing.

  • Coughing etiquette:

When coughing or sneezing, cover your mouth and nose with a paper tissue. Discard the used paper tissue immediately, then wash your hands thoroughly with water and soap (or wipe them with alcohol-based hand sanitizer). If you have no tissue or any other thing on you to put in front of your mouth/nose, then sneeze into your raised elbow rather than the palm of your hand. By complying with the coughing and sneezing etiquette, you can protect people around you from all pathogens transmitted via liquid droplets, including COVID-19.

  • Virucidal hand disinfectants must be provided at the entrance of the University’s sites as well as in the immediate vicinity of the classrooms. Each person entering the institution must thoroughly wash or sanitize their hands upon arrival as well as before and after meals. Responsible person: Director.
  • We provide virucidal soap for washing your hands in the social rooms. We provide paper towels for drying your hands. You are explicitly requested not to use textile towels. Responsible unit: the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.
  • We set up warning and informative signs about the fundamental rules of personal hygiene and correct hand washing in the social rooms and restrooms. Responsible person: Director.
  • Social distancing is key for preventing the virus from spreading further. You need to keep at least 1.5 metres as a physical distance. Setting up the social distancing warning signs is the responsibility of the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.
  • We use the proper virucidal surface disinfectants and sanitizers to keep classrooms and restrooms clean. Restrooms must be cleaned with disinfectant every 2 hours. The procedure must be documented in a cleaning log which must be posted on the wall and then cumulatively submitted to the IT and Security Directorate the next morning each day. Restroom soap dispensers must be filled with virucidal hand sanitizer soap. Virucidal hand sanitizers must be placed in front of or in the immediate vicinity of the rooms mentioned above. Virucidal disinfectants must always be used in the appropriate concentration and application time according to the manufacturer’s instructions displayed in the Hungarian language. The procurement, uninterrupted supply and placement of the appropriate hand sanitizers is the responsibility of the IT and Security Directorate, while the surface disinfectants are provided by the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.
  • Frequently touched surfaces such as door handles, lift buttons, switches, handles, vending machine touch pads, rails, etc., must be disinfected regularly, i.e., at least every two hours. The virucidal disinfection of these surfaces is the responsibility of the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.
  • In order to reduce the potential concentration of pathogens in closed spaces, we must especially focus on permanent or regular intensive ventilation. In addition to machine-based ventilation, we recommend using concurrent natural ventilation as often as possible, provided that the room’s windows can be opened. Ventilation systems that only swirl the internal air but do not pump fresh air in (e.g., split air conditioner, fan coil and mobile ventilation units) may only be used if there is a concurrent intensive supply of fresh air from outside. Split air conditioners must be set in such a way that they don’t cause an intensive air flow at the bottom half of the room. Heat exchangers and dust filters should be frequently disinfected with a licensed virucidal sanitizer. In case of intensive usage, replaceable filters must be replaced more frequently than prescribed. The documentation, control and teaching of the correct settings to the staff members is the responsibility of the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.
  • The Director is responsible for providing the appropriate information for the people arriving at the University’s sites, with regard to the restrictive and preventive measures taken in relation with COVID-19 including the institution- and facility-specific conditions for use.
  • If any sign of infection or disease is detected in the University’s sites, the authorities must be notified as required by the epidemiological regulations. These notifications are the right and responsibility of the Rector.
  • We need to contract an infectologist in order to create a safer and healthier environment, to properly interpret the public health requirements, to appropriately implement the legal regulations and other norms as well as to make sure that we can react and take measures rapidly. Responsible person: Director.
  • According to the Rector’s decision, the University’s library will only provide online services while the Physical Education Department, the gym and the sports room will be closed. The buffet and the restaurant only serves for takeaway. Communal areas will be closed. Responsible person: Director.

 

3.      CLASS ATTENDANCE

 

  • Contact classes will only be held for subjects listed in the Rector’s order (as manually intensive practical classes): Anatomy, Chemistry, Pathology, Small Animal Care, Equine Care, Food Animal Medicine, Mobile Clinic, Farm Visit, Veterinary Ophthalmology. These classes must be held in such a way that the 1.5-metre social distance may be maintained with a consideration for the room capacity. The IT and Security Directorate has completed the capacity assessment of the classrooms. Practical classes that do not require personal presence will be broadcast in a pre-recorded digital form.
  • The Experimental Farm will continue running the “on-duty week” field practice programme, in compliance with the epidemiological regulations.
  • Lectures and conventional contact classes will exclusively be broadcast online from the classrooms.
  • With regard to communication with the students, priority must be given to e-mail and the solutions via the electronic educational system. We must continue to provide access to look into the evaluation of the homework assignments and mid-term tests, during which we must pay extra attention to complying with the security regulations.
  • The prescribed cleaning guidelines must be met in all educational and communal spaces, which must be properly documented. The surfaces of the rooms must be disinfected before the next student group comes in. Responsible unit: the Technical & Operations Group, under the Director’s supervision.

 

4.      IMPLEMENTATION OF PRACTICAL CLASSES AND PRACTICAL TRAINING COURSES

 

  • Students and teachers participating in practical classes must follow special hygiene regulations. Before beginning the practical class, they are required to wash their hands with soap or clean them with alcohol-based disinfectant, which must be provided at the premises. They are required to wear a mask at every class.
  • Prior mandatory training courses such as courses on occupational and fire safety, data protection and hospital hygiene are preferred to be held online.
  • Students must be allocated in advance in order to reduce the number of students present at one time. The students’ body temperature is measured, the measurement is carried out by the teacher of the practical class.
  • During field practice and practical classes, the practice leader must make sure that the personal protective equipment is used correctly at all times. A minimum 1.5-metre social distance must be maintained throughout the practice as possible.
  • After the class, the practice leader or the person assigned by the practice leader must clean the equipment with a virucidal surface disinfectant, provided that the substance does not damage the equipment.
  • The regulations regarding field practice and practical classes must be abided by in all practice facilities.
  • The prescribed cleaning guidelines must be met in all practical educational spaces. The surfaces of the rooms must be disinfected before the next student group comes in.

 

5.      EXAMINATIONS, TESTS AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS

 

  • The date, the affected area and the expected attendance of oral examinations must be determined in advance to ensure that the epidemiological regulations could be met.
  • Students must be assigned to arrive at a priorly agreed and scheduled time for oral examinations.
  • The relevant classroom rules also apply to testing in writing. Students and teachers are advised to use their own personal instruments for written tests. With all hygiene rules observed, written tests can be safely evaluated after a 24-hour waiting period.
  • Tests and examinations may only be attended by healthy, symptomless students and/or teachers. It is advised to measure the body temperature of students.
  • Masks are required for all written tests and oral presentations. Work surfaces and instruments must be regularly disinfected.
  • Throughout the examination, the rules of the coughing etiquette must be strictly observed, to which the students’ attention must be called in writing before the exam as well as orally when the exam begins.
  • Oral exams may only be held in well-ventilated rooms. Apart from the person in charge of the exam, no more than two students may stay in the room at the same time. In special examinations where examinees use the instruments one after the other (e.g., laboratory etc.), the tools must be treated with a rapid action surface disinfectant after each use.
  • Oral examinations must be held in rooms where frequent natural ventilation is possible. The rooms, corridors and social rooms must be disinfected before and after each examination, with special regard to cleaning the frequently touched surfaces (door and window handles, keyboards, monitors, mice, electric and other switches, rails, faucets, etc.) with a virucidal disinfectant.

 

6.      REVISED HOUSE RULES FOR MAREK JÓZSEF EDUCATIONAL CENTRE AND DORMITORY

 

  • You cannot stay in Marek József Educational Centre and Student Hostel unless you are free of any COVID-19 symptoms and feel healthy.
  • Students staying in the hostel are not allowed to assemble!
  • Students are not allowed to receive visitors/guests in the hostel! Do not let guests stay in any vacant rooms/beds!
  • Communal rooms will be closed. The only exception is the kitchen on each floor:

– a maximum of 4 people from no more than two rooms may stay there for the necessary time. Exception: the laundry room across Reception on the ground floor, where a maximum of 1 person may stay for a time needed for loading and unloading the washing machine.

The kitchens on the upper floors must be cleaned and disinfected according to the revised requirements. We will place and regularly refill the necessary disinfectant dispensers at the communal areas. Responsible person: Hostel Director.

The rooms must be cleaned by the students living there. Cleaning is controlled and supervised by the hostel director and the caretaker on a random basis.

  • 3 people will be accommodated in each room. Do not go over from one room to the other! You are required to wear a mask on the entire area of the Hostel, except when you stay in your room.
  • In front of Rooms 112, 113 and 114, the corridor on the hostel’s first floor will be separated by a drywall with a lockable door installed in it. The 3 rooms thus separated will serve as a quarantine facility to isolate the students infected by COVID-19. The operation of the isolation rooms, the organization and provision of care for the students quarantined there according to the relevant epidemiological rules is the responsibility of the Hostel Director and the IT and Security Director.
  • Students staying at the hostel must be warned to immediately notify the Hostel Director if they detect any potential symptoms of the disease. Persons demonstrating COVID-19 symptoms must be isolated immediately.
  • If there is a suspected case of infection in the hostel, you must act according to the effective alarm protocol which allows the affected person to be isolated as soon as possible. At the same time, immediate measures must be taken according to the regulations of the National Public Health Centre (hereinafter: NPHC).

 

7.      USE OF SPORT AND OTHER RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

 

  • The Physical Education Department and its rooms are closed. It is forbidden to conduct organized sports activities in the University area.

 

8.      WHAT TO DO ABOUT A SICK PERSON

 

  • If a student, teacher or other staff member demonstrates the symptoms of infection, they must be isolated immediately. At the same time, you must immediately notify the occupational health medical practitioner and the Director, who will then decide what action to take based on the effective rules of procedure.
  • Persons supervising the sick individual are required to wear a mask and gloves.
  • If a case of COVID-19 infection is suspected, you must notify the healthcare institution with the required capacity and preparedness. If the suspicion is confirmed, it is the institution’s duty to provide the patient with the care defined in the effective order of procedure issued by the NPHC.
  • Similarly to other diseases, students, instructors or other staff members who have gone through COVID-19 may only return to the University if they present the medical certificate generally accepted by all units of the University. The heads of units are not allowed to override this regulation in their scope of authority.
  • If chronically ill instructors and other staff members need a special treatment and protection due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision must be made by their therapist and the necessary measures must be taken accordingly.

 

9.      COMMUNICATION

 

  • We strongly recommend all Students and Staff Members to always consult reliable sources.
  • In terms of protection from COVID-19, the NHPC’s documents published on its website will help you to meet the requirements defined in the protocol.
  • For more information, please visit our COVID-19 INFO page or send an e-mail to [Click to see email].

 

Budapest, 13 November, 2020

1.  Annex No:

It is FORBIDDEN for students/staff members to enter the institution’s premises if they have demonstrated the typical symptoms of COVID-19 or if they detected the following symptoms in the last three days:

  • coughing;
  • laboured breathing, asphyxiation;
  • fever;
  • shivering;
  • muscle pain;
  • sore throat;
  • newly lost or changed sense of smell and/or taste.

This list does not include all possible symptoms. Other, less common symptoms have also been reported in connection with the viral infection, including gastrointestinal ones, such as:

  • nausea,
  • vomiting and/or
  • diarrhoea

If you detect any of these symptoms on yourself, please call your GP immediately and follow their instructions.