Appendix 1

Appendix 1
How to protect
yourself and others on
campus

Health and safety

guidelines

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 Appendix 1

Contents
1. Work in shifts  3

2. Keep your distance from other people  3

3. Minimize physical contact  3

4. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly  3

5. Masks are required  3

6. Cough and sneeze into a paper tissue

or the crook of your arm  4

7. Shared equipment  4

8. Ventilate your workspace  4

9. Limit gatherings  4

10. People at especially high risk  4

11. Attendance lists  5

12. Protective products for units  6

13. SwissCovid app  6

14. NotifyMe Check-in App  6

15. If you think you might have COVID-19  7

16. What should you do while awaiting the results

of your COVID-19 test?  7

17. What should you do if you test positive for COVID-19?  8

18. What to do if someone in your unit tests positive for COVID-19

or thinks they may have it  8

19. EPFL testing center  9

20. Entering Switzerland  9

21. Questions?  9

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1. Work in shifts
As of 5 June, remote working will no longer be required by the Swiss federal
government, but it will continue to be recommended.
EPFL’s upper management is therefore allowing employees to work in turns on
campus and remotely, depending on the needs of their units. Employees who must
use campus facilities (experimental research, technical equipment) can work entirely
on site.
For other employees, whose work does not require access to physical infrastructure
(theoretical research, administration), their unit heads must establish a rotating
schedule with up to ⅓ of this staff working on site and the remaining ⅔ working
remotely on any given day.
The goal is to allow every employee to return to campus. Special care must be taken
with people who are considered at risk with regard to the pandemic. In all cases, unit
heads must keep an updated attendance list.

2. Keep your distance from other people

You can contract coronavirus if you come into close, extended contact with an infected
person. Maintaining a distance of at least 1.5 meters helps keep you and others safe.
Plan your work in advance to ensure you can always maintain this distance everywhere,
while wearing a mask, including in open-space offices, labs, workshops and other areas.

3. Minimize physical contact

Don’t shake hands with people, avoid touching your face, and try not to handle objects
used by others, for example.

4. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly

Video: how to wash your hands
Hand washing is the golden rule of public health. Regularly washing your hands with
soap and water can help keep you and others safe.
If you’re unable to wash your hands, use a hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer dispensers
have been installed on campus.

5. Masks are required

Video: how to use a mask
You must wear a mask in all EPFL hallways and in all rooms where there are two
or more people.
You must also wear a mask outside if you are not able to maintain a distance of at
least 1.5 meters from other people, as well as in vehicles if two or more people from
different households are together.

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6. Cough and sneeze into a paper tissue

or the crook of your arm
Cover your nose and mouth, ideally with a paper tissue, when you cough or sneeze.
Do not spit in public spaces.

7. Shared equipment
Be sure to clean any shared equipment – such as printers, keyboards/mice and
phones – with a surface disinfectant after every use.
It is recommended that shared equipment be used by as few people as possible, or
even just by the staff who normally operate the equipment.
Product recommendations are available here: go.epfl.ch/coronavirus.

8. Ventilate your workspace

In rooms that don't have a ventilation system, please try to open your window for at
least 10 minutes every hour.
In rooms equipped with a ventilation system, the system has been modified so that
it maximizes fresh air from outside rather than reusing recycled air. The hourly air-
change rates in these rooms provide sufficient ventilation.

9. Limit gatherings
It is possible to meet in person as long as :
■ a distance of at least 1.5 meters is maintained between people
■ everyone is wearing a mask at all times
■ the meeting organizer draws up and keeps a list of all attendees
(for more information, see point 6 of the directive)
■ the meeting organizer ensures that all surfaces in the room
(tables, armrests, etc.) are disinfected after the meeting
■ social interaction on campus must be kept to a strict minimum, including
in common areas (like hallways) and during coffee breaks and at lunch.

10. People at especially high risk

Employees who are considered persons at high risk (according to the Swiss Federal
Office of Public Health (FOPH) definition) must continue to work remotely until further
notice.

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Exceptions are only possible if all of the following conditions are met:
■ It must be absolutely necessary for the unit, and there is no other possible
solution.
■ The employee must agree to it.
■ The employee’s supervisor must approve it.
In accordance with Article 27a of the Swiss federal government's COVID-19 Ordinance
3, the employee's supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the following conditions
are met before the employee returns to work:
■ the workplace is organized so as to prevent any close contact with other persons,
in particular by providing the employee concerned with his or her own room or a
clearly separate working area;
■ in cases where close contact cannot be avoided at all times, appropriate
protective measures are taken in accordance with the STOP principle
(substitution, technical measures, organizational measures, personal protective
equipment).
EPFL may ask the School’s occupational health specialist to evaluate the situation of
any employees at especially high risk.
If you have any medical questions about your own risk level and your doctor is
unable to provide answers, you can contact EPFL’s occupational health team at
[email protected] (all discussions will be kept confidential).
In line with Swiss federal government rules, these measures don’t apply to anyone
living in the same household as someone who is considered to be at high risk.

11. Attendance lists

The cantonal public-health authorities require EPFL to be prepared to help trace
people who, over the previous 14 days, are believed to have come into contact with
someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. For this reason, EPFL unit heads
must keep attendance lists.
In accordance with Article 5 of the Swiss federal government’s COVID-19 Special
Situation Ordinance, these attendance lists, which represent a form of personal data,
must be handled as follows:
■ Attendance lists can contain the following information only:
□ last name
□ first name
□ the unit to which the person belongs
□ the date the person was on campus
□ the room number.

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■ Unit heads are requested to keep a list of private telephone numbers, which will
only be used in the event of a request from the cantonal medical service.
■ This information may only be used for its intended purpose, which is to help the
cantonal public-health authorities trace people who, over the previous 14 days,
are believed to have come into contact with someone who has tested positive
for COVID-19.
■ The units are required to retain this information for 14 days and then destroy it.
■ It is not necessary to enter remote work hours into the absence manager.

12. Protective products for units

COVID-19 protective products are mainly available through the Lyreco catalogue. The
product numbers for items approved by the Safety, Security & Operations Department
are shown on Lyreco’s main page.
All units can use these catalogues to order any additional items they may need. The
following products are available:
■ Face masks
■ Reusable EPFL masks (only available through the ShopEPFL Catalyse
catalogue)
■ FFP2/N95 face masks (only available through the COVID-19 catalogue)
■ Bottles of hand sanitizer
■ Surface disinfection wipes
■ Surface disinfectant spray.
If you have any questions on how to place an order via Catalyse, please contact the
Service Desk at [email protected]

13. SwissCovid app

The SwissCovid app, which was developed in part by EPFL, is designed to break
chains of infection.
The developers applied the privacy-by-design approach to protecting personal data.
The app can be downloaded free of charge from the Google Play Store and the Apple
App Store. For more information on the app.

14. NotifyMe Check-in App

NotifyMe Check-in is a new app designed to help stem the spread of SARS-COV-2. It
runs on the CrowdNotifier protocol, which was developed mainly at EPFL by some of
the same people who came up with DP3T, the protocol used in the SwissCovid app.

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NotifyMe seeks to break transmission chains by informing users who may have been
infected after being at the same location (such as an event, a public place, a meeting
room or a classroom) at the same time as someone who was contagious.
Pilot tests of NotifyMe at EPFL began on 18 January. More information.

15. If you think you might have COVID-19

If you meet one or more of the following criteria:
■ You have symptoms that could be indicative of the disease according to the
FOPH.
■ You have been in close contact * with someone who has tested positive.
■ You have recently been in a country or area with a high risk of infection as
defined by the FOPH.
■ You have been instructed to self-isolate by the public-health authorities.
Then please take the following steps:
■ Don’t come to campus to work or study.
■ Inform your supervisor.
■ Stay at home and comply strictly with the health and safety guidelines.
■ Self-evaluate by completing the CoronaCheck questionnaire.
■ If you decide to see your doctor, call the doctor’s office first.
Staff members must enter their absence into the absence manager using the
following code: “Specific events (HR) – quarantine COVID-19.”
* Close contact means spending more than 15 minutes
less than 1.5 m away from someone, without wearing a mask.

16. What should you do while awaiting the results

of your COVID-19 test?
If you have been tested for COVID-19 but do not yet have the results, stay at home.
You can start putting together a list of people you were in close contact * with in the
days preceding your test or before you began showing symptoms.
Staff members must enter their absence into the absence manager using the
following code: “Specific events (HR) – quarantine COVID-19.”
* Close contact means spending more than 15 minutes
less than 1.5 m away from someone, without wearing a mask.

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17. What should you do if you test positive for COVID-19?

If you test positive for COVID-19, you will be informed by the public-health authorities
in your home canton by either a phone call or text message. Here’s what to do :
■ Comply strictly with the public-health authorities’ instructions.
■ Stay at home and do not come to campus to work or study.
■ The letter you receive from the public-health authorities will serve as your
medical certificate, whether you’re a student or staff member.
■ Reply to the public-health contact tracing survey.
■ While you’re waiting for the public-health authorities’ instructions, notify
everyone you were in close contact with in the 48 hours before your test or
before you began showing symptoms.
The public-health authorities will carry out a contact tracing survey and ask anyone
who was in close contact * with you to self-isolate. This process could take longer
than usual due to the high number of new cases, so we suggest you begin contacting
people yourself.
Staff members who test positive must enter their absence in the absence manager
under “illness or doctor visit” starting on their first day off work.
* Close contact means spending more than 15 minutes
less than 1.5 m away from someone, without wearing a mask.

18. What to do if someone in your unit tests positive for

COVID-19 or thinks they may have it
Anyone in your unit who thinks they might have COVID-19 should refer to point 15. No
other special measures are needed as long as that person does not test positive.
Anyone in a unit who has tested positive for COVID-19 (see point 17) will contact
everyone they were in close contact * with. These people must then follow the
instructions in point 15. The attendance list kept by the units will be used to identify
people who may have been in close contact with the person who tested positive
(such as over lunch).
If the health and safety measures have been complied with, it is unlikely that people
who were not in close contact with a person who tested positive were infected
themselves. However, these people:
■ should pay close attention to their own health
■ can keep working, but remotely if possible
■ should avoid all non-essential contact with other people
■ must always comply with the health and safety guidelines. 

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In accordance with the Federal Act on Data Protection and the Federal Epidemics Act,
there’s no need to notify the DSPS if you think you may have COVID-19 or if you test
positive. Moreover, these guidelines are designed to protect the privacy of members
of the EPFL community.
Unit heads must ensure that staff members have correctly entered their absences
into the absence manager (in accordance with points 15 to 17).
* Close contact means spending more than 15 minutes
less than 1.5 m away from someone, without wearing a mask.

19. EPFL testing center

The EPFL testing center is open, by appointment only, to the entire university
community as well as residents of surrounding areas. As soon as you start showing
symptoms of COVID-19, don’t wait – get tested right away! Tests are by appointment
only, and free of charge if you meet the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health’s criteria.

20. Entering Switzerland

■ Special rules went into effect on 8 February for people entering Switzerland.
Depending on the type of travel, you may have to:
□ fill out a form
□ show proof of a negative test
□ go into quarantine.
■ These rules apply to all people who are permitted to enter Switzerland, including
Swiss citizens who are returning to Switzerland after being abroad.
■ You will find detailed information on the Swiss federal government’s website.

21. Questions?
Please continue to consult our coronavirus website – go.epfl.ch/coronavirus – for all
of your questions.

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