SARS-CoV2

Dear students,

1. The grace period for the summer term 2020 has been extended until 30 June 2020.
2. The University will not be running scheduled classes onsite until the end of June 2020.
3. From 4 May 2020, lecturers will return to their offices at least for a limited time per week and will now be additionally available by phone, but will continue to deliver teaching online. The secretary’s office will remain closed until further notice.
4. The University Library will start its physical service from 4 May 2020. The scan service will be available until 4 May 2020. Fines have been waived on any book currently on loan and their renewal period has be extended until 20 May 2020. Among the digital ressources currently available are now 9,500 books of the publisher Nomos.
5. As you will know, the Austrian Government announced that the current lockdown will end today, 1 May 2020. You can now leave the house for any reason. However, many restrictions will remain effective until further notice, e.g. you must observe the social distancing and keep at least 1 meter away from other people who are not members of your household, and you still need to wear a protective face mask in supermarkets and public transport.

We will continue to update you on a regular basis. Take care.

>> Austrian Federal Law Gazette II No. 197/2020 (German only)

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UPDATE 4/4/2020

Dear students,

1. Due to the current pandemic, Seggau Summer School will be postponed to July 2021.
2. Although the situation seems to have eased a little in Austria (we refer to declining infections with SARS-CoV-2), Austria`s Minister of Science and Education has extended the closure of universities until 30 April 2020. We are not alone: „As of 3 April 2020, over 1.7 billion learners were out of school due to school closures in response to COVID-19. According to UNESCO monitoring, over 180 countries have implemented nationwide closures, impacting about 97% of the world's student population.“ (cited after Wikipedia).
3. Despite the daily average of cases has declined (currently 9,073 persons (4/4/2020, 10pm) are infected - this corresponds to 0,1 % of Austria`s total population - 11,753 infected persons in total have so far been reported , 2,507 of whom have already recovered and 186 have died), additional measures have been determined in order to avoid the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Mask-wearing will now be compulsory in supermarkets and drugstores, even though politicians have told the public for weeks that there is no need to do this. The government is planning to extend the wearing of protective face masks to “other parts” of our daily life.
4. It is compulsory in Austria to keep a distance of minimum 1 meter to other people (except to people living in the same household) in order to avoid the spread of the virus. You will be punished by a severe fine in case that you will be encountered next to others closer than 1 meter. In Germany, however, 1,5 to 2 meters are suggested as a safe distance.
5. On April 1 2020, several states of the European Union have expressed in a diplomatic statement that they are “deeply concerned about the risk of violations of the principles of rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights arising from the adoption of certain emergency measures.” To date, this statement was signed by Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden. The Republic of Austria was not among the signing states.
6. One more time it is necessary to clarify: the virus SARS-CoV-2 cannot be transmitted by touching a person. It is spread by droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The virus needs to touch your mucosa (either mouth, nose, eyes, anus, or genitals) to infect you. Hence you can also catch the virus by touching a contaminated surface and then your mucosa. You can destroy the structure of the virus by washing your hands with sufficient soap (the process of soaping itself should last at least for 20 seconds to be on the safe side :-).

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UPDATE 22/3/2020

Dear students,

please note that the measures of the Austrian Government (inclusive of the curfew and the closure of shops) have been extended until 13 April 2020. Please be careful since there have been many complaints in the past days. 

We have been informed by the University Library that the following publishers and providers are making scholarly content temporarily available for free:

Annual Reviews

Cambridge University Press (textbooks)

Project MUSE (e.g. all books and journals of Johns Hopkins University Press, University of North Carolina Press, Vanderbilt University Press)

Forward ever, backward never!

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UPDATE 19/3/2020

Confusion about the closing of parks and playgrounds

The Austrian Minister of Health has underlined today that parks and playgrounds will not be closed. However, this issue will eventually be left to each community. The city of Graz has enacted a prohibition to enter sport fields and playgrounds (both public AND private), but it does not include parks. The City of Graz informed on her website that this prohibition is subject to surveillance.

COVID-19 Enactment of the Austrian Ministry of Health (German only)

Prohibition of the City of Graz (German only)

Información sobre el virus en español

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UPDATE 18/3/2020

Dear students, 

1. Theses (Diploma, Master, PhD) may be handed in digitally at the Dean`s office (details).  
2. Since the university library has suspended its service, you are encouraged to use the library`s service of e-books, e-journals and databases via uni-kat. You simply need to establish a vpn-connection to access this service from home (more information on how to install vpn client on your personal device). Please return books and other media only if you leave the country, in all other cases please wait until the library will be open as usual. Overdue fines have been stopped. Library users with outstanding fines or overdues may also use the electronic service. Please direct any queries to ub.auskunft(at)uni-graz.at
3. Please be extremely aware of phishing e-mails.
4. Measures of the Austrian authorities include the closure of all public spaces (inclusive of sport fields and playgrounds) and restrictions on public gatherings. Essential shops (e.g. supermarkets, pharmacies, drugstores) will remain open. People are required to stay at home and only leave their houses for essential activities (groceries, to assist others, or essential work). If you need a break, you are allowed to go for a walk (but only alone or with persons living in the same household).
5. Always remember: never touch eyes, mouth or nose without tissue or having washed your hands before since this is a common way to get infected. Wash your hands more often than usual, for at least 20 seconds using enough soap, particularly after coming home from outside, coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose - hand sanitizers are only an option if there is no possibility to wash your hands and if they are declared to act virucidal (regular sanitizers are mostly bactericidal only). Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or your sleeve when you cough or sneeze. Put used tissues immediately in the bin and wash your hands. Keep enough distance to other people. Based on our understanding of what is currently known of the disease COVID-19, it is likely that elder people and those with pre-existing chronic medical conditions (such as respiratory diseases) may be especially vulnerable to the virus SARS-SoV-2 – so try to avoid close contact particularly with those vulnerable groups.
6. Please do not leave your home if you have either returned from an affected area (e.g. Italy, Tyrol), or have been in contact with someone infected with the virus, or if you are feeling unwell with a cough, difficulty breathing and/or fever. Immediately call the hotline: 1450.
7. The Austrian Ministry of Health can be reached by the 24/7 hotline: 0800 555 621. 

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UPDATE 16/3/2020

Liebe Studierende!

C.IAS-Mitarbeiter Dr. Christian Cwik wurde von der Zentrumsleitung zum Corona-Beauftragten ernannt. Bitte richten Sie sämtliche Fragen per E-Mail an ihn. Sie können ihn in dringenden Notfällen in der Zeit von Mo.-Fr. 10-18 Uhr außerdem unter der Telefonnummer +43-680-2134676 erreichen. 

Die Universität Graz hat einen eigenen Informationsbereich das Virus betreffend eingerichtet. Sie erreichen die Universität unter: +43-316 380 2000 (COVID-19- Hotline, Mo-Fr 8-16 Uhr) bzw. .

Dear students,

C.IAS staff member Dr Christian Cwik has been designated corona-appointee. Please direct any queries via e-mail. In case of emergency, you can also reach him by phone +43-680-2134676 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm). 

The University of Graz has created information pages concerning the virus. You can reach the University both by phone +43-316 380 2000 (COVID-19- Hotline, Mon-Fri 8am-4pm) and e-mail .

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UPDATE 14/3/2020

Liebe Studierende!

Die Universität Graz hat den Parteienverkehr mit Freitag, den 13. März 2020, komplett eingestellt. Ab Montag, den 16. März 2020, bleiben sämtliche Einrichtungen der Geisteswissenschaftlichen Fakultät geschlossen. Der Unterricht wird jedoch trotzdem in Form von digitaler Lehre fortgesetzt. Bitte bleiben Sie zu Hause und nehmen Sie mit den verantwortlichen Lehrveranstaltungsleitern per E-Mail Kontakt auf! Wir halten Sie auf unserer Website über Änderungen den Lehrbetrieb betreffend auf dem Laufenden.

Dear students,

the University of Graz has suspended all office hours from yesterday, 13 March 2020. From Monday, 16 March 2020, the whole Faculty of Humanities will remain closed. However, teaching will go ahead digitally. Please stay at home and contact your lecturer/s via e-mail. We will continue to provide updates on this matter as soon as they become available and will communicate any changes via our website.

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12/3/2020

Liebe Studierende!

Aus aktuellem Anlass setzt das C.IAS all jene Maßnahmen um, die von der Universität Graz am 10. und 11. März 2020 hinsichtlich der Eindämmung des derzeit grassierenden Virus SARS-CoV-2 beschlossen wurden. Der Präsenzunterricht (Lehre in Hörsälen) wird demnach bis einschließlich 3. April 2020 ausgesetzt. Stattdessen wird die Lehre - soweit möglich - online (insbesondere per moodle) durchgeführt. Um direkte Gespräche mit den Studierenden zu führen, wurde die Sprechstundenfrequenz der einzelnen Lehrenden erhöht. Bezüglich Terminvereinbarungen kontaktieren Sie bitte den jeweiligen Lehrenden per E-Mail. Wir hoffen, die Präsenzlehre alsbald wieder normal aufnehmen zu können und halten Sie auf unserer Website über Neuigkeiten und Änderungen den Lehrbetrieb betreffend auf dem Laufenden.

Dear Students,

according to the measures taken by the University of Graz with regard to the current crisis provoked by the outbreak of COVID-19, teaching in lecture theatres will be suspended until 3 April 2020. Instead, teaching will take place online (in particular via moodle). In addition, the frequency of our lecturer's office hours has been increased. Please contact your lecturer/s for further information and/or to make an appointment. We hope to return to regular teaching in lecture theatres as soon as possible. Please keep informed about news and changes regarding teaching via our website.