As you will most probably have seen in the media, the coronavirus outbreak, which started in China, has now reached Germany. While we advise taking all warnings seriously, at the same time we should avoid any hysteria. With this in mind, we recommend following the Foreign Office News Pages, which are updated daily:
Foreign Office Health Service (daily updates)
1) OUTGOING students & academic staff
Before travelling:
If you plan on travelling abroad in the coming week, please contact us immediately.
info.rihuni-rostockde; (0381) 498-1209
Look at the attached picture for a grasp of the current situation.
After travelling out:
Registered students and academic staff of the University of Rostock who are currently in the above-mentioned areas on a study trip, on an internship or for research purposes, should contact us immediately.
You should continue to follow the information at the link above carefully, and also add your name to the "Elefand" list at the German Embassy in the relevant country. This is an electronic register of German citizens abroad – a Crisis Prevention List – with which all German nationals in the respective country are contacted, and who may be flown out if the situation deteriorates.
After returning from travel:
All students and academic staff who have been in the above-mentioned areas in the last 2 weeks, in China, South Korea, Italy or Iran, should be screened immediately at their local surgery or hospital if there are any grounds for suspicion.
Suspected symptoms/grounds for suspicion include a deterioration in your general health, in particular any respiratory problems. When you arrive at the doctor's or clinic, mention your suspicion of coronavirus so you can be taken to a separate waiting area.
The incubation period is 2 weeks. Therefore, after arriving from areas which are in the vicinity of the affected areas, one should subject oneself to a “Self Check” for two weeks, which means monitoring whether any of the suspected symptoms occur.
To find out more about the situation in China (in German), please go to:
German Embassy in Beijing – Advice on Coronavirus
For all other foreign representations of the Federal Republic of Germany, please use the following link.
Websites of Germany's Foreign Representations
2) INCOMING international students and academic staff
All international students and academic staff coming from the affected regions, who have been in China, South Korea, Italy or Iran in the last 2 weeks, should be screened immediately at their local surgery or hospital if there are any grounds for suspicion.
Suspected symptoms/grounds for suspicion include a deterioration in your general health, in particular any respiratory problems. When you arrive at the doctor's or clinic, mention your suspicion of coronavirus so you can be taken to a separate waiting area.
The incubation period is 2 weeks. Therefore, after arriving from areas which are in the vicinity of the affected areas, one should subject oneself to a “Self Check” for two weeks, which means monitoring whether any of the suspected symptoms occur.
Before coming, please contact us in advance and also check the local departure conditions and inform us so that we can appropriately prepare for your arrival accordingly.
3) SITUATION concerning the coronavirus in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (situation as of 3rd March 2020)
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is well prepared for screening:
3rd March 2020:
Greifswald/Schwerin (dpa/mv) - for the first time in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, two patients have been found to be infected with the new coronavirus. The married couple from Greifswald came into contact with an infected person at a congress held at the end of February in Baden-Württemberg, as reported by the Ministry of Health in Schwerin on Tuesday evening.
(…)
The Ministry set up a telephone hotline on Tuesday to handle any enquiries concerning the new coronavirus and the lung disease Covid-19. There are experts contactable from Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 12 noon and from 1 pm to 3 pm using the phone number 0385 588 5888. The hotline is manned on Fridays from 9 am to 12 noon. “Interest in information about the coronavirus is growing steadily", stated Glawe. Notices and messages were also disseminated using the information and news app "Nina".
According to public health officer Dr. Kühn, the management unit at the district of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania has instigated measures to counter the spread of the virus as effectively as possible. “The important thing now is that every citizen observes the known hygiene regulations in order to protect themselves and their personal surroundings", the public health officer reminded us, while emphasising at the same time that there really is no cause for panic.
About 200 cases of infection have registered throughout Germany so far. However, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is expecting to see more cases and outbreaks in Germany. The federal states most affected so far have been North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. As well as the Tourism Fair ITB in Berlin, the Leipzig Book Fair has also been cancelled to reduce the spread of the virus.
Serious progressions of the lung disease Covid-19, triggered by the virus, occurs only seldom, according to the experts; there has not been any death traceable to this recorded so far in Germany. Not everyone who is infected with the Sars-CoV-2 virus contracts the lung disease Covid-19. Furthermore, the vast majority of people just suffer from cold symptoms which disappear quite rapidly. Isolation of those affected and tracing of persons that they have been in contact with, is instigated in order to slow down spreading of the virus as much as possible.
To obtain further information from the University of Rostock please check the following: