Coronavirus Information and Updates

Spring 2021 Hybrid Learning

The Spring 2021 semester recently kicked off on January 18 as scheduled. Please check the academic calendar for dates and details.

Classes are still carried out mainly remotely for those of you who need more time to get here due to travel restrictions or for those in quarantine. Your professors are working hard to guarantee an effective learning experience for those both on campus and off. Please make an effort to communicate directly and in a timely manner with your professors and inform them if there are any difficulties with virtual classes or if you are in quarantine. For now and per the federal guidelines, classes are meeting remotely unless your professor has let you know otherwise, and specifically in the case of small seminars and lab courses. For those students in the classroom, we remind you to social distance and wear masks in all common areas.

IMPORTANT: students returning from these countries will have to quarantine for ten days upon arrival. This list, provided by the federal government, has recently been updated on January 20. Keep in mind that quarantine is necessary even in the case of a negative test result and a COVID-19 vaccination. Current students should check the Moodle site for details. Rest assured, Franklin is by your side in the case of quarantine, making sure you are comfortable in your dorm room, are eating well, and staying connected.

Safety Precautions

To help ensure the safety of our community, we have implemented several safety precautions. This includes the frequent and rigorous cleaning of common areas and classrooms. We have numerous stations for disinfecting your hands. Please make good use of them. Likewise, you will see indications for keeping a distance of 1.5 meters from others. Please be sure to follow these directions when on campus.

Masks are required in the indoor common areas and where social distancing cannot be observed effectively outdoors. This is also true outside the campus, in Switzerland masks are compulsory in all public and indoor spaces, public transportation included. For purposes of sustainability, please bring at least one mask with you. Ideally, it will be reusable/washable.

Check out the handy videos the Swiss government has provided on wearing and caring for masks effectively here:

How to wear a face mask correctly

How to use a fabric face-covering correctly

Academic Travel

Spring 2021 Academic Travel is scheduled to begin in March. All groups will be traveling as planned but within the Schengen area, and specifically within Switzerland or a neighboring country to facilitate a quick return if needed. If the destination for your Academic Travel has changed, you should have already been informed by your professor. As indicated in the schedule above, Academic Travel will also be shortened slightly. Please know we are doing our very best to balance your safety, that of the faculty and the integrity of the Academic Travel experience. As always, your professors are going above and beyond to make this experience meaningful and enriching.

Additional Measures:

• Cleaning: Common areas and classrooms are being regularly and rigorously cleaned with alcohol-based products.
• Disinfectant stations: We have installed numerous stations for disinfecting your hands – use them often.
• Social distancing reminders: You will see indications around campus for keeping a distance of 1.5 meters from others. We understand you have a lot on your mind so these reminders will help.
• Seating configurations will be actively tested during the month of August to determine the best distribution of students and teachers in classrooms. Through this testing, we can be confident in maintaining the correct social distances.
• Air quality is being tested via simulation software designed in Switzerland, called SIMARIA.

Continue to the next sections for more important information.

Campus Services

Dining: Services will continue to operate in compliance with the directives of the federal authorities. Students will be asked to stagger their eating times in order to avoid lines and crowds. We have room for 43 people in the NC Dining Hall so that community members can eat in socially-distanced groups of 2, 3, or 4. Take-away is also available. For those in self-quarantine: meals will be delivered to on-campus residences if you purchase a meal plan. The Franklin app also has links for great places to order food and will be updated regularly - download from iTunes or Google Play.

Health Services: If you are experiencing physical or emotional symptoms and you would like help, do not hesitate to contact our on-site healthcare professionals.

IT Services: We are working to maintain the appropriate tools for remote study. Information and instructions will be provided but, if you require additional assistance, contact:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+41 91 986 3668

Library: Unfortunately, the Library is not able to offer you a physical study space at the moment due to federal regulations, but we are reachable for any question or assistance at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You may also request online available titles from our catalogue: https://fus.on.worldcat.org/discovery

Tone Athletic Center (TAC): Per federal guidelines, the TAC remains closed through the end of February. Where possible, in compliance with those guidelines, we will offer to our community members excursions, outdoor courses, and activities, limited to 5 participants, to practice sports and enjoy a good time together. These offerings will be promoted through the FUS App.

Travel Restrictions and Information

In almost all regions across the globe there is risk of COVID-19 infection. Franklin discourages any unnecessary travel at this time. If you must travel, please consult the Federal Office of Public Health’s (FOPH) Recommendations for Travelers.

If you develop any symptoms, you should immediately contact Health and Counseling at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Entry Into Switzerland

Travelers entering Switzerland from certain regions must self-quarantine for ten days. See self-quarantine section below for more details. The list of at-risk countries is updated regularly by the FOPH. Travelers affected should be notified during the flight, on board coaches, and at border crossings.

Students, if you reside in a country where the airports are not yet open, or if you have not yet completed it, please update the arrival form. We are happy to work with you to find a solution so that you can begin your course work remotely.

Leaving Switzerland

In the event that Students decide to travel or return home, they must complete the Independent Travel Registry in Moodle. Students will not be permitted to return to campus without having completed the form. Any students returning from abroad will be asked to self-quarantine upon their return for the minimum ten-day period. See self-quarantine section below for more details.

Swiss COVID Rules and Recommendations

Measures taken by the Swiss Federal Council have been so effective that Switzerland has been classified as the safest country in the world according to Forbes.

Please be aware of the new safety measures that apply throughout all of Switzerland starting from January 18. Check out more details on new official measures and ordinances here.

Adapting to new constrains and remaining socially distant is not easy, but be sure to stay connected and engaged as a community throughout these difficult times. Franklin is by your side.

Housing

All residences are operational.

Common areas are rigorously and frequently cleaned by our staff. If you have a roommate, please remember to practice social distancing. Clean the surfaces in your residence with chlorine or alcohol-based disinfectants. For a complete list of recommendations, see the Protecting Yourself and Others section.

If a COVID case is suspected, roommates will not be put at risk. The Office of Student Life has identified empty rooms and apartments in campus housing to allow for separation of roommates or moving sick and healthy people as necessary.

Leaving your Campus Housing

Students leaving their campus housing temporarily or permanently are asked to pack their belongings in labelled boxes. If students decide not to return before end of term, or are unable to return, those boxes will either be stored or shipped as designated by the student.

Students who intend to leave on-campus housing must complete the housing form to communicate their plans and must leave their room keys and mailbox keys on the desk in their rooms when they go. In the event that the indicated plans change, the housing form should be filled out again to communicate those changes to the Office of Student Life.

For more information on current housing policies and procedures, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Developing Symptoms

If students, faculty, or staff begin to suffer from COVID-like symptoms, they must stay home and contact a health care professional. Symptoms vary from person to person. They include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, loss of taste or smell. No one should go in-person to seek health care without specific instructions from their doctor. After a verbal assessment, the individual will receive specific instructions on how to proceed with self-care or obtain assistance.

Faculty and staff should contact their doctors directly.

Students should contact the campus Health and Counseling staff at:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+41 91 986 53 11

Self-Quarantine

You must self-quarantine for the minimum 10-day period if:

• You are entering Switzerland from one of these countries
• You come into contact with a COVID-19-positive individual.
• You develop COVID-like symptoms: fever, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat, loss of taste or smell

Airlines are notifying the authorities when passengers arrive from at-risk countries, and the authorities will be conducting random checks to ensure quarantine periods are observed. The fines for quarantine violation can be as high as 10,000 CHF.

If you are starting the semester in quarantine, you will need to remain in your room for ten days. You can, however, spend time outside on your balcony. If no symptoms occur within 10 days of the last contact with a COVID-19-positive individual, people can resume normal activity according to federal guidelines. In the event that a student in campus housing becomes infected, the Office of Student Life has set aside apartments and rooms for the purpose and will place any roommates in separate housing for the quarantine period.

Please download the Swisscovid app (for android or iPhone), which is explained in this short video. This is now mandatory for all staff, teachers, and students to trace contact within our campus. Your participation will help keep our entire community safe.

Remember to purchase your meal plans so that you can order on-campus food. If you are in quarantine, meals will be delivered. Please note that Franklin can only provide quarantine meal support for on-campus students. For more options, the Franklin app has links for great places to order food and will be updated regularly - download from iTunes or Google Play.

Please note that any student living off-campus, who returns to Switzerland from a high-risk area, is also required to self-quarantine for 10 days before interacting with anyone on campus: students, faculty, or staff. As an institution, we are doing everything we can to keep members of our community safe, and we need your help to minimize contact that could put others’ health at risk. Students who develop COVID-19 symptoms or have health-related questions should contact Christina Schmid at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more information, check our detailed QUARANTINE INSTRUCTIONS.

At-Risk Individuals

People who fit one of the following descriptions are considered to be especially at-risk:

• People over the age of 65
• People suffering from cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases or chronic respiratory diseases
• People with conditions or undergoing therapies that weaken the immune system

Protect Yourself and Others

The Swiss COVID-19 app

Switzerland has developed the Swisscovid app to trace contact with the COVID-19 virus. Please download the Swisscovid app (for android or iPhone), which is explained in this short video. This is now mandatory for all staff, teachers, and students to trace contact within our campus. Your participation will help keep our entire community safe.

The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recommends simple measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus as part of their campaign:

Protect Yourself and Others.

Hygiene Rules and How to Behave

Wash your hands thoroughly.

Avoid shaking hands.

Stay at home if you have a high temperature and a cough.

Keep your distance.

Cough and sneeze into a tissue or the crook of your arm.

Always call ahead before going to the doctor’s or the emergency department.

Franklin Recommendations

The university recommends the following additional prevention practices in compliance with the directives of the Swiss public authorities:

• Wash your hands often. It is recommended to use hydroalcoholic solutions for hand washing in public places, gyms, supermarkets, pharmacies and other meeting places.
• Avoid close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections.
• Maintain, in social contacts, an interpersonal distance of at least 1.5 meters (5 feet).
• Practice respiratory hygiene (sneezing and/or coughing in a handkerchief, avoiding hand contact with respiratory secretions).
• Avoid the promiscuous use of drinking glasses and bottles, especially during sports.
• Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands.
• Clean surfaces with chlorine or alcohol-based disinfectants.

Media Resources for Additional Information

Swiss Health Department (FOPH)

Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA)

Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC)

World Health Organization (WHO)

Center for Disease Control (CDC)