What to expect when arriving and while in the AUC building
Coronavirus measures being taken in your country may be very different from the Dutch approach. The Dutch government's strategy is based on individual responsibility and accountability. However, everyone in the Netherlands is expected to abide by and respect these protocols in order to protect the health and safety of yourself and your community. These measures may affect your daily routine, may alter the way academic courses proceed and will also have an impact on the accessibility of the AUC building and general life on campus. On this page, you will find an explanation of the basic rules in place by AUC, the UvA and Dutch government and what you can expect when you arrive on campus.
The coronavirus can spread easily among people in groups, and carrying out source and contact tracing is more difficult when large, unregulated numbers of people have gathered together in groups. If people gather in groups and this poses a safety or public health risk, enforcement officers can take action
From 1 June, the wearing of face masks in public transport vehicles is mandatory for travellers and employees. This applies to all those using public transport (including local ferry services) who are 13 or older in the Netherlands. When travelling by public transport, taxi, coach or car, a non-medical face mask that does not have a filter and is made of a material such as cotton is enough. These types of face masks are sold in places like supermarkets and pharmacies.
Please note that you may not use a scarf, face shield/visor, bandanna, the collar of a jacket, or a non-medical face mask made from a sock, for instance. Gas masks should also not be used.
Are you traveling by bus? Then you are asked to board via the back door and check-in. This reduces the number of contact moments between travelers and bus drivers. Getting in the back means that you cannot buy a single ticket from the bus driver. However, it is the intention that you have a valid ticket in your pocket. Therefore, travel as much as possible with the OV chip card.
At airports, it may not always be possible to stay 1.5 metres from others at peak periods or during security checks. So airports are asking travellers to wear non-medical face masks at check-in, security and when boarding, for instance. Additionally, all passengers aged 13 and above travelling to and from Dutch airports must fill in a Health Screening Form. The airline you are flying with will provide you with a Health Screening Form.
The wearing of a non-medical face covering is optional in the AUC academic building.
Wearing face masks in UvA buildings, and therefore also in the AUC academic building, remains a matter of individual choice. It is neither required nor forbidden. Students and colleagues who wish to wear them in the AUC building are free to do so, but under no circumstances may wearing a face mask be used as a reason for not keeping 1.5 metres distance from others. Nationally, the position is that wearing a face mask is not necessary as long as the basic rules can be followed, in particular, staying at least 1.5 metres away from others (not from the same household) at all times. This is also the case in UvA buildings, including the AUC academic building.
Generally speaking, self-quarantining means that you do not leave your house, receive visitors, travel to other locations, use public transport or come into contact with others during a certain period of time. Under the current coronavirus measures, a period of 10 days is recommended. If you don't develop symptoms that could be caused by the coronavirus within those 10 days, you can end the self-quarantine after that time.
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has labelled each country in the world with a so-called travel advice. That travel advice indicates whether or not you are advised to self-quarantine after arriving in the Netherlands from that country. Unfortunately, the page where you can check the travel advice is only available in Dutch. You can check if you need to self-quarantine by entering the country you're traveling from in the ‘Voer hier uw land of gebied’ in section.
It does not matter whether a country already had an orange travel advisory when you arrived there or this changed during your stay. In both cases, you must self-quarantine for 10 days after arriving in the Netherlands. If a country has an orange travel advisory for reasons other than health, you do not need to self-quarantine.
If you develop symptoms that are in line with those of coronavirus, you are urgently advised to self-quarantine and get tested. If you test positive for coronavirus, you and anyone else you live with should stay at home for 10 days.
If you live with other people who display symptoms of coronavirus, you should all get tested for coronavirus. Everyone should stay at home until all the results have been received. None of you should go to work or school, for instance, and you should ask other people do grocery shopping or walk the dog for you. If the results come back negative for everyone, all members of the household can go out again.
If one person in the household tests positive, the whole household must quarantine for 10 days, even those who have no have symptoms. Those without symptoms can briefly go out to do grocery shopping. This is called ‘household quarantine’.
If you're sharing a room with someone who is self-quarantining, you can also contact the Amsterdam Public Health Service (GGD) for advice by calling 020 555 5202 from Monday to Frida between 09.00 and 20.00, and from Saturday to Sunday between 10.00-20.00. You can also contact them by email at coronavragen@ggd.amsterdam.nl.
When you are advised to self-quarantine, you cannot come to classes or the AUC building. This is important for AUC staff to know. The registrar will keep a list of all students who are quarantining on campus, and during AUC's Introduction Week, we will explain how you can update your status with AUC's registrar's office regarding your quarantine (when it is complete, or if you have been diagnosed with coronavirus).
You can check who is advised to quarantine upon arriving in the Netherlands on the Dutch government's website.
If you are travelling from one of the countries for which it is advised to quarantine or you have symptoms (or have been in contact with someone who may have symptoms), this means that for the first 10 days:
We understand that you may have some reservations or questions on how you are supposed to quarantine (if applicable) when moving into the dorms. If you are living in a single room, these measures are less complicated than if you'll be living in a shared room. In general, living in shared rooms that were available for selection will be allowed in the coming semester. For some general information on DUWO’s policy on quarantining, please view the DUWO website.
If receiving deliveries in the dorms, please be careful about the security doors in the dorms. While you can let people into the mail area, the delivery person may not be able to get to your room. When quarantining, you should not leave your room to open the doors to the building. This means that you should coordinate with a neighbour or fellow student that deliveries go to their room first and that they can leave any deliveries in front of your doorstep
If you have selected a shared room, we suggest that you reach out to your roommate beforehand to make arrangements for arrival and quarantining (if your roommate arrives at the same time or within 10 days of your arrival), as you would have to avoid any contact with them during this period.
Below you will find some of the tips that we've shared with our current students regarding sharing a room when one must quarantine during the coronavirus:
Please note that the above also applies to anyone who was informed through contact-tracing or otherwise that they should self-isolate due to a potential risk of infection.
Due to the coronavirus measures in place, the opening and accessibility of the AUC academic building will be restricted for semester 1 of the 2020-2021 academic year (September 2020 - January 2021).
Generally speaking, if you do not have class in the AUC building, you should not visit the building. There will be no general study spaces or project rooms available for student use. Furthermore, AUC staff members will remain working from home unless it is essential for them to be on campus (teaching a class, for example). It is expected that you leave the building immediately following your class or reason for being on campus.
The AUC building (Science Park 113) will retain its normal opening hours on weekdays (Monday through Friday), but will be closed on all weekends during the first semester of the academic year. The building will be open to reflect times when on-campus courses and exams may be taking place:
Before entering the AUC building, all students and staff members will need to check-in electronically using their UvA ID card. There will electronic scanning stations located at all designated entrance and exit points. This electronic check-in and check-out system will be used to ensure that the amount of people in the building does not exceed the allocated capacity for the AUC academic building under coronavirus protocols. For this reason, it's also important that you do not come to the AUC building unless it's absolutely necessary (i.e. for a class or meeting) and that you do not stay in the AUC building longer than necessary.
If you forget your UvA ID card and cannot check-in, please report to the reception to check-in manually and to ensure that you are counted in the overall total.
There will be pre-determined routes for entering and moving through the academic building in order to create one-way flows of foot traffic and to make it possible for students and staff to maintain 1.5 metres distance from each other at all times. These walking routes will be clearly indicated at the front of the building and with signage throughout. When entering and exiting, please follow the arrows and signage demarcating the correct walking direction and route.
Upon arriving at the AUC building, students will be directed to one of three entrances depending on where their class or meeting is taking place. Staff may enter the building using any of the three entrances. These entrances and destinations will be clearly indicated with signage outside of the building. All students who have class on the first floor, and staff members who need to stop by the reception desk, will enter through the main rotating doors and follow the signage and floor markers to their classroom or office. Students who have class on the second or third floors will enter through the side entrance to the left of the rotating doors and proceed via the designated walking routes to their classrooms. Those who have class in the Common Room will enter through a dedicated entrance that leads directly to the Common Room.
Are you unsure of which floor your classroom is on? At AUC, the first number of the classroom is the floor number. For example, if your class is taking place in room "1.02", that means it is located on the first floor. If your class is taking place in room "3.04", this means your class is on the third floor. If your class is listed as taking place in "0.08", this means your class is taking place on the ground floor in the Common Room.
All foot traffic in the AUC building will follow designated, one-way walking routes indicated by signs and arrows. While moving through the AUC building, please remember to retain at least 1.5 metres distance between yourself and others at all times. Once inside the building, please proceed directly to your classroom or office location.
After your class or meeting is finished, you should exit the building in an ordered fashion (maintaining 1.5 metres distance) and follow the signage to the designated exits. These exits are all separate from the entrances, meaning that you will exit at the back area of the AUC building.
For the health and safety of yourself and others, please respect the indicated walking routes and avoid gathering in pairs or groups while in the AUC building.
Classrooms have a special set-up that allows for equal space between and around isolated chairs/tables. This set-up has been carefully developed, in consultation with UvA Facility Services, to allow for multiple routes to seats and the best chance that the 1.5m distancing will not be breached if students take their seats in an ordered fashion (filling the furthest rows first as to not walk past or between each other to reach their seats). This set-up can also be used for exams without needing to be rearranged (moving furniture means touching furniture, and increased risks). The lecturer needs to stay at the front of the classroom so that they are at least 1.5m from the students in the front row at all times. This means that the arrangement of classroom furniture should always be left as-is and not be moved during the class.
Please note that in general, it is not possible to clean all classrooms between each class, but sanitising material will be provided so that everyone can clean their individual spaces.
The ventilation system of the AUC building meets all requirements in line with providing a safe work environment. The UvA (which manages the AUC building) has made sure that the ventilation systems in their buildings (including AUC) are up to code, have regular maintenance and meet the RIVM guidelines. They have also taken additional steps to optimise ventilation, such as switching off the central recirculation of the air-treatment system at the building level and prioritising ventilation over heating and cooling systems. Please note that mobile air-conditioning units and table fans are not allowed, as they can cause a direct flow of air from one person to another. It is allowed to open a window in the academic building to allow for even more fresh air from outside and this will not adversely affect the ventilation.
All visitors in the AUC building are strongly encouraged to take the stairs unless using the lifts is absolutely necessary. If using a lift, only one person should be inside at a time and priority will be given to those who cannot use the stairs.
For semester 1 of the 2020-2021 academic year (September 2020 - January 2021), there will be no study spaces or project rooms open to students in the AUC building. Due to the restrictions on the number of people allowed in the building at any given time and need to retain 1.5 metres distance between individuals at all times, the traditional open study spaces (Darwin Area, Common Room, Merian Area, third floor, etc.) and individual project rooms will be closed to students.
The canteen in the AUC Common Room is open during the semester, but opening times and range of items are limited. The canteen is open from Monday to Friday from 08.00-15.00. All students and staff are encouraged to take their refreshments outside or to take them home and not to linger in the building if at all possible.
Both staff and students are encouraged to make full use of the grounds for activities, including classes and meetings, when possible and weather-permitting. Please note that even when outdoors, the basic guidelines still apply, including respecting the 1.5m distancing and limits on group sizes.
In order to maintain 1.5 metres distance between all students and staff coming to the AUC building for classes, the arrival times and start times of classes will be staggered per block. This means that all students and lecturers will be notified of an assigned 15-minute window in which they must arrive and enter the AUC building.
Your assigned class start-time and arrival time will be indicated in your course schedule. Please arrive within this 15-minute block; not earlier and not later. The course start-times have been scheduled in a way that will prevent large queues from forming outside of the building but requires that both staff and students only arrive during their designated 15-minute window.
The courses will still run according to the allocated amount of time (i.e. for 1.5 hours or 2 hours), thereby also resulting in staggered exit times to ensure all students and staff can leave their classroom and the building (following the indicated walking routes) while not crossing paths with other students/staff and maintaining 1.5 metres distance.
Hand sanitisation stations are available for staff and students at all entrances and near the toilets. All students and staff should sanitise/wash their hands regularly and thoroughly. In classrooms, there are paper towels and disinfectant spray that staff and students can use to sanitise their table/chair.
All bathrooms in the AUC building have been made gender-neutral and the initial entry doors removed. This was done in order to make it easier to maintain 1.5 metres distance when entering and exiting bathrooms, and to reduce the number of surfaces visitors need to touch. Please note that the doors to the stalls remain; just the main entry door has been removed.
Extra cleaning of common areas and frequently touched surfaces will take place throughout the day. Special attention will be given to all doors, handles, handrails and other surfaces that multiple students or visitors may touch in shared spaces.
The wearing of a non-medical face covering is optional in the AUC academic building.
Wearing face masks in UvA buildings, and therefore also in the AUC academic building, remains a matter of individual choice. It is neither required nor forbidden. Students and colleagues who wish to wear them in the AUC building are free to do so, but under no circumstances may wearing a face mask be used as a reason for not keeping 1.5 metres distance from others. Nationally, the position is that wearing a face mask is not necessary as long as the basic rules can be followed, in particular, staying at least 1.5 metres away from others (not from the same household) at all times. This is also the case in UvA buildings, including the AUC academic building.
When visiting the AUC building, students and staff should remember to respect the hygiene guidelines for all people in the Netherlands (wash your hands often, cough and sneeze into your elbow, use paper tissues to blow your nose and discard them after use, and no handshaking) and may also wish to bring their own hand sanitiser and/or disinfectant wipes to clean any surfaces or spaces before use.
In order to ensure that lecturers and staff members maintain these guidelines while in the AUC building, each lecturer and staff member will be given a personal sanitisation kit consisting of hand sanitiser and disinfectant wipes to be used throughout their time in the AUC building, especially when using communal items/spaces such as printers/copiers, meeting rooms, coffee machines, kitchen utensils, etc.
If you develop symptoms of a common cold or slight temperature, get tested, stay at home, do not go outside and avoid social contacts until the test results are known.
If the result of the test is negative, you can end your self-quarantine.
If you test positive for COVID-19, please follow all of the official medical advice that is given to you by your doctors or medical staff. You are also kindly requested to inform AUC directly by emailing Prof. Murray Pratt and the College Secretary via collegesecretary@auc.nl. AUC will treat your case confidentially and will not do anything with (nor disclose) any information you provide without your consent. Any informing of close contacts of a confirmed case will be done anonymously, and only after AUC is instructed to do so by the GGD.
If you test positive for COVID-19, you need to continue self-isolating and inform your close contacts that they need to self-quarantine in case you have infected them (as well as providing a list of your close contacts to the GGD). Follow the advice of the GGD or your doctors with regard to when you can end your self-isolation once you have recovered. Usually, once you have been completely free of symptoms for at least 24 hours and it is at least seven days since you fell ill, you should not be contagious anymore.
If you are too sick to participate in online educational activities for any reason (including common things such as nausea or stomach bugs), please report this to your tutor and your teachers.