Rector’s Order no 43/2020 updating an order on preventing the spread of COVID-19 virus among members of the MUW community

Pursuant to § 12 section 7 of the Statute of the Warsaw Medical University, in connection with the Act of March 2, 2020 on special solutions related to the prevention, countermeasures and combating of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and emergencies caused by them (Journal of Laws item 374 of 2020), it is ordered as follows:

The following principles are introduced for preventing and counteracting the spread of COVID-19 virus among members of the MUW community:

§ 1.

1. All conferences and events organized by MUW and external events organized by MUW Departments are canceled.
2. International business trips and participation in national conferences of employees, doctoral students and students of the Medical University of Warsaw are suspended.
3. Visits of foreign guests at the University are suspended.
4. The accommodation of new persons in student dormitories is suspended, as well as the ban on visitors is introduced.

§ 2

1. Lectures for students are canceled. They will be made available electronically.
2. The access of students to clinical classes that require one-off personal protective equipment in the conditions of operating theaters, ICUs, etc. is limited.
3. The course of other classes currently remains unchanged.
4. In view of the regulations taken, the University will make every effort to allow students, despite the extraordinary situation and precautions taken, to implement the curriculum and to credit classes on other dates.

§ 3

1. An obligation to limit the direct contact of employees at work to a minimum is introduced.
2. To ensure communication, it is recommended to use e-mail correspondence and telephone contacts.
3. Correspondence in paper form should be submitted to the MUW mailroom, and not directly to administrative departments or offices.
4. Letters containing confidential information, e.g. in personal matters, should include the sender's identification, should be marked with a red inscription "personal data" and addressed to the Human Resources Department.

§ 4

1. In order to counteract COVID-19, the employer may instruct the employee to perform, for a fixed period, work specified in the employment contract, outside the place of its permanent performance, hereinafter referred to as "off-site work".
2. An order may be issued in particular in the case of:
   1) the employee's prior stay in the areas of coronavirus occurrence, in this case the employee's return from a foreign trip,
   2) deterioration of the employee's health, characteristic of the symptoms of coronavirus infection,
   3) suspected coronavirus infection of the employee as a result of the employee's contact with a sick person or suspected of coronavirus infection
   and in other cases specified in the announcements of the Chief Sanitary Inspector.
3. The employee is obliged to immediately inform the employer of suspected illness caused by the COVID-19 virus.
4. The information referred to in para. 3, should be forwarded to the head of the department by e-mail or phone, and then confirmed by e-mail to the following address: zgloszenia@wum.edu.pl
5. The head of the organizational unit makes a decision to order the employee to work off-site, agrees with the employee the scope and duration of the off-site work. Once, this period may not exceed 14 calendar days.
6. The head of the organizational unit is obliged to:
   1) follow daily the current announcements of the Chief Sanitary Inspector and the Medical University of Warsaw messages regarding coronavirus;
   2) notify to the MUW IT Center to provide MUW the employee working off-site with resources and programs his/her work computer in the MUW's internal network; the application should be sent to the following address: IT@wum.edu.pl  with the name and surname of the given person and the computer's IP address in the MUW internal network to which the encrypted connection is to be provided;
   3) maintain contact with an employee working off-site and supervise the effects of this work;
   4) report the situation to the employer.
7. The obligation to report suspected COVID-19 infection also applies to PhD students and students - information should be sent to the e-mail address: zgloszenia@wum.edu.pl

§ 5

1. Individual decisions in matters specified in § 1 may be made by the Rector.

§ 6

The ordinance enters into force on the day of signing and is valid until May 15, 2020 with the option of extension depending on the development of the epidemiological situation.

Mirosław Wielgoś
Rector