Dear Franklin Community,
In this Monday update, we share news about traveling into Switzerland from abroad, a new early detection program that Franklin is launching on campus, and updates for the week here on campus.
For any students traveling back to campus, new rules go into effect today, February 8: all incoming travelers must complete a new electronic entry form to share details about the last leg of their travel every time they enter Switzerland from abroad – including from the Malpensa airport. Only individuals living in border areas are exempt from completing the form. For more details, please check the updated Moodle site from OSL. It contains all the information you need about traveling and quarantine! Remember you will also need valid proof of a negative PCR test result that is less than 72 hours old if flying or arriving from a high risk country.
This week we are also rolling out our participation in a new “u-Smell-it” safety initiative that we hope will contribute to keeping our community safe and healthy during the ongoing pandemic. Using a rapid smell test, we hope to provide a wide scale COVID-19 screening, by helping to identify individuals suffering from a loss of the sense of smell, which is an early and common indicator of COVID-19. The rapid smell test consists of a packet of “scratch and sniff” cards and a mobile app where you can enter your results. The new initiative will run on campus from Monday, February 15, 2021 until Thursday, March 25, 2021. While it is open to all students and members of on-campus community, we strongly encourage those of you enrolled in a Spring Academic Travel to participate. We hope that regularly monitoring your sense of smell coupled with the PCR test in the days leading up to Academic Travel will not only prevent the potential spread of the virus to the rest of your group and the broader community, but it will also reduce some of the anxiety associated with traveling. If you are interested in participating, you can read more about the initiative and sign up participate here. Sign-ups will be open for one week. All participants will be entered into a drawing for a 200 CHF cash prize that will be awarded prior to leaving on Academic Travel.
Finally, Dean Deborah Knaust and Dean Sara Steinert Borella will be hosting their first rounds of “Coffee for Five!” at the Grotto this week. Join them for coffee and let them know how the spring semester is going. See details in the app and in the attached flyer. And it wouldn’t be a Monday update without the reminder to wear a mask fitted over your nose and mouth in all indoor spaces, social distance, and wash your hands. You are making a difference in helping to keep us all safe!