Please continue to wear FFP2/N95/KN95 masks in all campus indoor areas, including the classroom, academic and administrative buildings, residence halls, and dining halls when not consuming food or drink. All students received 10 free masks in their campus mailbox at the start of the semester and can purchase additional ones in the dining hall, at the bookstore, reception, and major grocery stores in the area. Additionally, all students need a valid vaccination or recovery certificate, or a negative test to attend classes (3G).
Franklin's policy requires us to notify the community of any positive COVID-19 cases among individuals who were on-campus any time in the five days before their diagnosis. We have two members of the community who tested positive last week and are in self-isolation. Following protocol, individuals who had close contact without masks were identified during the contact tracing and were instructed to quarantine.
As always, students should immediately contact medicalservices@fus.edu if they develop flu-like symptoms or have close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, or if they test positive and begin isolating immediately.
Students who test positive must send their negative COVID-19 test result to medicalservices@fus.edu before returning to campus. Staff or faculty who tested positive recently will need to send a negative test result to VP Tomaso Rizzi before returning to campus.
Last week the Swiss government announced a series of important updates to current regulations for the upcoming months:
- Shortened validity of the COVID Certificate to 270 days from January 31, 2022: all vaccination and recovery certificates will be valid for only 270 days (formerly 365 days) to align with other EU states.
- Changes to entry requirements from January 22, 2022: vaccinated or recovered individuals no longer need to present a negative test before entering Switzerland. Anyone who is not vaccinated or recovered still needs a negative test to enter the country, but will no longer need to take an additional test 4-7 days later. The Passenger Locator Form will only be completed by those travelling to Switzerland by plane or on a long-distance bus service.
- Contact tracing quarantine and remote work requirements are extended until the end of February 2022.
- Extension of all other current regulations involving certificate requirements indoor venues and limited participants at private gatherings until the end of March 2022.
- Rapid antigen tests remain free of charge.
We continue to encourage all individuals who can do so to get their vaccine or booster by scheduling their vaccination/booster appointment in Lugano as soon as they become eligible.
If you were vaccinated, boosted, or recovered abroad, please remember to convert your foreign certificate through the National Certificate portal.
Lastly, students, if you have not yet shared your most recent vaccination, booster, medical exception, or recovery documents with us, please do so as soon as possible. Returning students will need to enter their email address used for their Franklin application process to access the COVID-19 Vaccination/Recovery Form. Returning students who have issues accessing the form should contact Elena Veri-Sartori for assistance.