In order to protect our community and because the COVID infection rate remains high in Ticino and Switzerland, Franklin will maintain stricter measures than the Swiss authorities at least until April 19, 2022. These measures include:
- Until and including 31 March 2022,
- Franklin requires all persons on campus to wear FFP2 masks in all indoor spaces when others are present.
- Entrance to the Tone Athletic Center (TAC) requires a 3g COVID certificate and it is optional to wear a mask.
- Entrance to indoor events/programs requires a 3g COVID certificate or the requirement to wear an FFP2.
- Starting 1 April 2022 and through at least 19 April 2022,
- Franklin will relax the FFP2 mask requirement, but will continue to require medical-grade masks in all classrooms, meeting spaces (conference rooms, offices, etc.), libraries, auditorium, hallways and common areas of residence halls, and shared offices. Franklin continues however to recommend FFP2 masks or equivalent, but any medical-grade mask is acceptable, as long as it does not have a built-in valve.
- All Franklin employees will be required to wear a medical-grade mask when they are in the same indoor space as others.
- Masks will be required for Food Service staff and students who prepare food for events and programs.
- Entrance to the TAC will no longer require a 3g COVID certificate.
- A medical-grade mask will be required to attend indoor events/programs.
In general:
- Masks and registration (link to be updated after March 31, 2022) are both required for visitors to the Franklin campus.
- Masks are strongly recommended in all indoor areas, including the Dining Hall and Grotto when you are not eating/drinking.
- Students with any upper respiratory symptoms (including allergy-like symptoms) may attend class but need to be particularly vigilant about wearing a mask and adhere strictly to hygiene rules: social distancing and frequent hand washing/sanitizing.
- All community members are encouraged to follow the hygiene guidelines and maintain 1.5 meters distance from others. Use hand sanitizer when you cannot use soap and water to wash your hands.
In Switzerland, medical masks are required on public transportation and in healthcare institutions (pharmacies, hospitals, medical clinics, etc.) until March 31, 2022. Individual establishments may still stipulate that visitors must wear a mask. Swiss authorities will announce any changes to this mask requirement beyond March 31 later this week. We will keep our community informed of any changes to the Swiss requirement.
As of today, we have 6 community members who tested positive for COVID-19 last week and were present on campus during the five days before their diagnosis. Individuals who had close contact without masks were identified during the contact tracing and asked to follow these instructions, get a COVID test (a Rapid Antigen COVID test is FREE by scheduling one at a local pharmacy), monitor their symptoms, and wear a mask at all times. Franklin students who test positive must present a negative COVID test result to medicalservices@fus.edu before returning to class, campus buildings, or campus activities. Franklin employees must submit a negative COVID test result to VP Tomaso Rizzi before returning to campus.