The caretaker government announced new measures on 26 November. There are a few minor changes to the measures that affect students and staff at Leiden University, in particular relating to sports and restaurant facilities.

University remains open
The University will remain open for teaching. You do not have to maintain 1.5m distance within University buildings, but you are advised to keep your distance where possible, and to avoid busy areas. Please be considerate of others. The Executive Board would once again like to stress the importance for the well-being of our students of on-campus teaching, and the opportunity to meet up and work together.  

Concerns among staff and teachers
For students it is important that the University remains open, but this does raise concerns among our staff and lecturers. The Executive Board understands these concerns. It is important that we continue to talk to one another about these concerns and look for the best ways to implement the measures. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will make adjustments if and when necessary.

Work from home
Everyone is strongly advised to work from home. If this is absolutely impossible, you must make sure you observe the 1.5m distance when you are on University premises.

Sports facilities
The University Sports Centre (USC) and Plexus in Leiden and Beehive in The Hague will be closed for sports activities after 17:00 hrs.

Catering facilities
The restaurant and catering facilities in University buildings will be closed after 17:00 hrs.

Follow the basic rules
We strongly urge everyone to follow the basic rules from the Corona Check and the Campus Protocol:

• Work from home where possible.
• Get tested quickly if you have symptoms.
• Do the Corona Check before you come to the University.
• Socially distance by 1.5m if and when you can.
• Do a self-test (lateral flow) twice a week, even if you don’t have any symptoms. You can order them free.
• Our advice is: get vaccinated.

The caretaker government announced new measures on 12 November because of the rapid increase in coronavirus cases. The following new measures apply to students and staff of Leiden University from Monday 15 November:

Maximum group size for teaching
Once again, a maximum of 75 people are allowed per room. All tutorials and classes with 75 people maximum can continue as usual. For lectures, we will consider Monday a transition day to give everyone the opportunity to make arrangements. If you have a lecture on Monday with more than 75 people, check on Brightspace whether this will be online or streamed. If that is the case, follow the lecture from home. If that is not the case, you can attend the lecture in person.

By Monday at the latest, students will receive information through Brightspace on how their classes will be taught from Tuesday 16 November. The aim is to use a model that makes the most possible use of the capacity of 75 people per room, and to provide the lecture online for the remaining students. The Executive Board is keen to emphasise how important in-person teaching is for our students’ well-being. Students will once again have to reserve a study space due to the limited capacity (here too max. 75 people per room). For more information see the Library website.

Tests and exams
The maximum group size of 75 people does not apply to tests and exams.

Inaugural speeches, PhD and degree ceremonies
Inaugural speeches and PhD ceremonies will still take place in person, but with a maximum of 75 people in the room. See faculty communication for more information.

Distancing and face masks
Since 6 November 2021, it has once again been compulsory to wear a face mask if you are moving around in the University buildings. You may remove the face mask once you are sitting at your work or study space. Distancing is not compulsory in University buildings, but try to distance from others anyway and avoid busy places. Be considerate of others.

Work from home
You are strongly urged to work from home where possible. Working from home and online meetings are once again the norm. Exceptions do apply for teaching, laboratory and other location-specific work. If you have to work at the office due to private circumstances, discuss this with your manager.

Student Well-being Week
The Student Well-being Week from 15 to 19 November will go ahead. Most of the activities are in small groups, and in these difficult times it is all the more important to meet up in person and think about mental health. So come along and join in!

Follow the basic rules
We strongly urge everyone to follow the basic rules from the Corona Check and the Campus Protocol:

• Work from home where possible.
• Get tested quickly if you have symptoms.
• Do the Corona Check before you come to the University.
• Socially distance by 1.5m if and when you can.
• Do a self-test (lateral flow) twice a week, even if you don’t have any symptoms. You can order them free.
• Our advice is: get vaccinated.

We will update the information in the coronavirus dossier (FAQs etc.) and the Campus Protocol on Monday 15 November to reflect these new measures that apply as of 13 November. These measures apply until Saturday 4 December.

Message from the Executive Board
On behalf of the Executive Board Rector Magnificus Hester Bijl has a few words of encouragement: ‘We realise that the stricter rules will be hard for many of us. Working from home will once again be the norm and the measures will ask a lot of our students and staff. Fortunately, much of our teaching will continue in person because we know how important this is for our students. If we all stick to the rules, we’ll be able to beat coronavirus together and once again meet up on campus.’

The government is holding a press conference on Friday 12 November and may announce new measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. From the start of the pandemic, the University has followed the government guidance and the advice of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). The University’s Central Crisis Team (CCT) will meet this weekend to discuss how any new measures will affect the University. As always, the CCT will inform management of the results of this meeting straight away. We will also inform students and staff as soon as possible. We will announce any new measures in an update on the website, and will also update the Campus Protocol.
 
We are doing all we can to ensure our teaching and research continues in the safest possible way for our students and staff. Our teaching is and will remain in person, as long as government policy permits. We are also in close contact with the Public Health Service (GGD). There are no known outbreaks of Covid on campus at the moment and the GGD sees no cause for concern. We do ask all students and staff to follow all the basic rules and to do the Corona Check before coming to the University.

During the press conference on 2 November, the government announced a number of new corona measures. These measures take effect from Saturday 6 November and we will be applying the new rules within the university from that date. These measures have been incorporated into a new version of the Campus Protocol.

The key points from the new protocol: 

• With effect from 6 November 2021, everyone is again required to wear a face mask when moving around inside university buildings. Once you are seated at your work or study place, you can remove your face mask.
• There has been a change to the advice to staff on working from home: we will work at home for at least half of our working hours. Staff and their managers will discuss together how this can best be arranged.
• Restaurant facilities and the sports centre will remain open for staff and students. Visitors from outside the university will need to have a corona pass. See the website for the rules for visiting the sports centre.
• The Hortus botanicus is only accessible with a corona pass.
• Wherever possible, keep a safe distance from other people, avoid busy areas and travel only outside the rush hour.  

Please note: different rules may apply in the buildings of the LUMC. 

In addition, always do the Corona Check before coming to the University. If  you have a cold and/or other symptoms that could indicate corona and you test negative, please have consideration for the people around you and stay at home until the worst of the symptoms have passed. 

The government announced new measures on 2 November. These will apply from Saturday 6 November. The new measures will be incorporated in a new version of the Campus Protocol that will be published on 5 November.  

The main changes from 6 November are:  

• It is once again compulsory to wear a face mask if you are moving around the University buildings. You may remove the face mask if you are sitting down. 

• The advice on homeworking is: ‘work a least half of your working hours from home.’ The government also urged people to avoid busy places, keep a distance of 1.5m and where possible travel outside of peak times.