Following the measures imposed by the Czech Ministry of Health, physical presence at the workplace without a valid negative SARS-CoV-2 test result will be prohibited from Wednesday 17 March 2021.

The test result must not be older than 7 days and all employees are required to submit to testing, except for the following persons:
a) employees working from home
b) people who have recovered from Covid-19 in the previous 90 days
c) people who have received full vaccination (two doses), where at least 14 days have passed since receiving the 2nd dose
The manner in which employees may prove that they are exempt (such as an affirmation that they have a certificate of recovery from Covid-19, a scanned certificate etc.) will be decided by heads of the relevant economic units.

The head of the economic unit decides on the form of the test, therefore the procedure may differ slightly from one workplace to another.

MU employees can take the antigen test either:

• at public sampling points
• at sampling points for antigen testing established for MU employees. They are located:
  • in the Bohunice Campus – building A21, Monday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  • in the area at Vinařská No. 4, Monday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
  • at the MU Rector’s Office, Monday and Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  • Employees have to register for a test using the ‘COVID-19 Prevention’ application in INET. 
• using a self-administrated test at the workplace – the test will be issued by the responsible person at the faculty/workplace

Information on the test result must be uploaded by employees using the ‘Covid-19 Prevention’ application in INET.

If the test result is positive, the employee does not go to work (in case of testing at the workplace he leaves the MU building) and proceeds according to generally valid rules: ensuring a PCR test through a general practitioner, isolation, quarantine.

Vaccination of academic employees of MU:

• Academic employees can register from 3 May until 15 June for COVID-19 vaccinations. To register, they need a unique code that must be issued by the faculty they work for and written confirmation that they are academic employees. MU employees will find this document in Inet.
• All employees contributing to in-person teaching, with the exception of administrative workers, are eligible for vaccinations.
• Thanks to an agreement between Masaryk University and the leadership of University Hospital Brno, the university has secured a sufficient number of vaccination slots for MU academic employees this week at the Brno Exhibition Centre. If you are interested in taking advantage of this opportunity, when registering select the vaccination site "FN Brno Výstaviště."
• You can register at mzcr.cz (only in Czech) by clicking on “Očkování krok – 1: Registrace” (Vaccination – step 1: Registration). When registering, you may choose from any vaccination centre in the Czech Republic. From the offered priority groups, click on “Akademický pracovník VŠ” (Academic employee).

Vaccination of other MU employees:

• MU is continuing to collect information about employees interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccination, including contract employees. You may express your interest in the vaccine in the application COVID-19 Prevention. 
• MU is currently holding talks with vaccination centres about inoculating employees. Employees who have expressed interest will be notified when vaccines are available. The goal is to vaccinate employees as rapidly as possible and to resume in-person classes.
• The MU vaccination campaign is in keeping with the overall strategy of the Czech Republic: those who are older will receive the shot first. Currently, people over 60 are being inoculated, including emeritus professors, and MU is preparing of the cohort 55+. MU will proceed similarly in lower age groups.
• Before the national registration of a given age group opens, Masaryk University always sends an e-mail with instructions on how to proceed to all employees who have registered their interest in vaccination in the application COVID-19 Prevention.
• Make sure to keep up to date your information about whether you are interested in receiving a vaccination in the COVID-19 Prevention application. In the Vaccination section of the application, you can edit the information you initially provided about your interest in receiving the vaccine by clicking on the pencil icon on the right, for example, if you are no longer interested in the vaccine or if you have already received it.
• If you are interested in the vaccine, add your contact phone to the application to enter your telephone number so you can be contacted when appointments become available.
• You will also find information in the application about how MU will handle your personal data.

MUDr. Věra Přibylová, MU’s contractual provider of occupational medical services, is not administering COVID-19 vaccinations to employees.

If you have any questions, write to ockovanicovid@muni.cz.

As of 2 September, the operation of the university follows a university traffic-light system. Please find more details at the websites of MU faculties.

The spring semester has started 1 March 2021 and ends 30 May 2021 (see the approved 2020/21 academic year schedule). 

Teaching follows the updated guideline no. 2/2020. 

FFP2/KN95 respirators or surgical mask following the regulations must be worn in MU premises.

Consultations and other communication with colleagues and students should be carried out at the maximum use by remote communication tools (telephone, e-mail, teleconferencing through MS Teams, etc.). 

It is recommended to make maximum use of electronic tools available at it.muni.cz. Further recommendations and instructions for teachers can be found at is.muni.cz/do/mu/samostudium. Various electronic databases are accessible from it.muni.cz/en/closed-libraries-wont-stop-you. 

Academic ceremonies can be held only in exceptional cases and must be in keeping with current government measures.

Canteens are closed to the public. The operation of canteens is regulated by the director of MU Accommodation and Catering Services (SKM MU) and the MU Crisis Staff based on the current epidemic situation.

It is compulsory to wear FFP2/KN95 respirators or surgical mask in canteens and seating arrangements in are adjusted so that social distancing can be ensured. Please find more details here: https://www.skm.muni.cz/menza?en.

Ready-made meals must be ordered two days in advance (via WebKredit or MobilKredit), but when you come to canteens without food ordering, you can choose from at least five meals.

MU recommends employees work from home, or, if they do work in their offices, to ensure that only one person is in one office at a time; testing is mandatory.

Entering the Czech Republic

• New requirements to enter the Czech Republic as of Friday 5 February:
  Starting 5 February, the rules for entry of all persons to the Czech Republic will change. The rules differ depending on if the country you are arriving from is listed as “dark”, “green”, “orange”, or “dark red”. Please see below rules that apply to you:

Rules for residents, Czech citizens and their family members

Rules for foreigners (no residents):

The list of countries for entry measures to the Czech Republic with effect from Friday, 5 February 2021 (last update: Thu, 6 May):

• Green countries (countries with a low risk of infection): Australia, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Republic of Singapore, Thailand, Vatican
• Orange countries (countries with a medium risk of infection): Balearic Islands, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Malta, Norway, Portugal (incl. Madeira and Azores)
• Red countries (countries with a high risk of infection): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Monaco, Poland, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain (incl. Canary Islands), Switzerland
• Dark-red countries (countries with a very high risk of infection): All other countries not listed above or below (in grey countries)
• Grey countries (countries with extreme risk of infection): Botswana, Botswana, Brazil, Colombia, Eswatini, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Peru, South African Republic, Tanzania (including Zanzibar and Pemba), Zambia, Zimbabwe

Please see the details at the website of Ministry of Interior.

See also:

• COVID-19 testing locations in Brno
• Regional Public Health Department in Brno
• information for incoming exchange students (spring 2021).

Visa information

For details on the issuing of visas and residence permits, please see the information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

Travelling outside the Czech Republic

Business trips abroad are permitted but must follow current regulations. They must also be assessed and approved by the employee’s direct supervisor.

Czech Law allows for all MU collective bodies to operate remotely. If it is not necessary to have a face-to-face meeting, the MU Crisis Staff recommends using electronic tools to hold meetings. These tools must enable secret and public voting.

The coronavirus epidemic affects not only the physical but also the mental health of humans. If you need the help of a psychologist in the current crisis, you can use the online consultation offer.

Employees of Masaryk University can also make use of psychological counselling. At this moment, you can contact the psychologists Lubomir Smekal and Ludmila Piňosová (via e-mails lsmekal@gmail.com and lidpinos@gmail.com) or you can contact anyone from the team of the Department of Psychology and Psychosomatics of the Faculty of Medicine of MU. They are ready to consult via email or Skype.

You can also read this recommendation for the public written by Miroslav Světlák, Head of the Department of Psychology and Psychosomatics (Masaryk University) and or special website of the Department of Psychology of FSS MU. 

Further detailed information and measures are also issued by individual faculties of Masaryk University, the Centre for International Cooperation and the Teiresias Centre:

If you experience symptoms of emerging respiratory disease (fever above 38°C, cough, breathing problems), stay at home, limit contact with others, contact a doctor via phone or email or other established helplines and follow their instructions. If you do not have a doctor in the Czech Republic, do see the list of English-speaking doctors in Brno here. 

Helplines: 

• +420 724 810 106, +420 725 191 367 or +420 725 191 370: nonstop helpline of the National Institute of Public Health 
• 112: medical and rescue service (as well as fire and police service) 
• +420 777 44 86 86: Centre for International Cooperation, Masaryk University 

If you have trouble that operators of Czech helplines do not speak English, please contact the helpline of Centre of International Cooperation at Masaryk University.

Please find the details here.