Dear Colleague,
University of Jyväskylä
Dear colleagues at JYU partner universities,
We hope that this message finds you and your families well in spite of this challenging time.
The coronavirus situation in Finland has been changing rapidly in the past week. Our Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) reported yesterday (18 March) 359 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Finland but pointed out that the number of those infected with coronavirus in the country may be 20-30 times higher than the number of confirmed cases. This is because people with mild symptoms and who are not working in health services are not tested any more. The number of COVID-19 infections is expected to rise considerably in Finland in the coming weeks and we felt it is necessary to give you an update on current situation and its implications to our university.
Our joint European and global effort is to contribute to containment of the spread of the coronavirus. Below is a list of institutional and national decisions that have been taken recently.
Decision by JYU management to suspend contact teaching
JYU management decided on March 14 that all contact teaching at the University will be suspended from 16 March 2020 until further notice. All exams in the University’s premises during this period will be rescheduled. However, all planned remote teaching and online exams will be arranged normally. With these measures, the University aims to prevent the spreading of virus infections and to give the teaching staff time to devise alternative teaching arrangements for the spring. Students will be provided additional information on the arrangements course-specifically.
All shared study facilities and computer classrooms have been closed in order to minimize physical contact. All student services continue to operate online until further notice. The JYU university library is closed from 18 March to 22 March. During this time, the university library will explore opportunities for providing services in the near future, taking into account the regulatory decisions made by the Finnish officials.
In line with the general regulations, also the International Office premises are closed, but we will continue to provide online guidance and services.
As of now, we have no confirmed coronavirus cases among JYU staff or students, but there are people with symptoms similar to coronavirus. As mentioned earlier, the cases cannot be confirmed due to reduced testing. The University strives to ensure the progress of studies despite the extraordinary circumstances.
New regulations by the government
The Finnish government announced on Monday (16 March) new nationwide regulations, including the following:
- nationwide school closures from 18 March onwards
- authorities have set in motion preparations to close the country’s borders à passenger traffic to Finland is to be suspended as soon as possible, with the exception of returning Finnish citizens and residents
- Finnish citizens and residents should not travel abroad and individuals who are out of the country should return immediately.
- Finns and legal residents returning from abroad will face a mandatory two-week quarantine.
- all gatherings of more than ten people are banned and museums, theatres, the national opera, libraries, mobile libraries, hobby facilities and swimming pools, youth clubs and other gathering points are closed; third sector organisations and religious congregations are recommended to do the same.
- public sector workers are recommended to telecommute as their jobs allow.
- all non-emergency activities within the health care sector will be reduced, while coronavirus testing capacities will be raised across the country.
Students currently on exchange at JYU
Students studying at JYU have been sent regular JYU coronavirus instructions by e-mail. The instructions can be found at www.jyu.fi/en/study/wellbeing/
Completing courses online
The period of the study right of our exchange students will remain unchanged to facilitate online studying. To inquire about opportunities for online-courses, please consult the international coordinator of the faculty in question. The faculty-level coordinators’ contacts can be found at www.jyu.fi/en/study/
JYU students currently on exchange abroad
Due to the increasingly uncertain situation abroad and the fact that countries are rapidly closing their borders, we have asked JYU students who are currently abroad to return home as soon as possible. The University has no authority to obligate its students to interrupt their exchange period, but we have expressed a strong wish that they do so. We would appreciate it if you could inform our students about the options to complete their course work online (if possible).
The situation we are all now dealing with is very exceptional and stressing. We hope it will inspire flexibility, caring and new creativity in all of us. Even though the majority of young people are not at a great risk with COVID-19, the health and safety of all students is very important to us.
We are appealing to you all to show flexibility towards your students regarding the requirements on the number of credits to be completed during exchange! Do not punish your students who have to interrupt their study abroad period because of a force majeure.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us in case you have questions or concerns.
Kind regards,
International Office staff international-office@jyu.fi and faculty-level international coordinators
University of Jyväskylä