News

For European citizens, our region (North Rhine Westfalia) no longer has quarantine restrictions for people travelling into the country.  This means you do not have to subject yourself to 14-days of self-isolation when you travel to NRW from Europe.

Please read more here: https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/pressemitteilungen/EN/2020/05/changes-in-the-border-regime.html  (The crucial sentence being: „A 14-day quarantine should be ordered in future only for travellers entering Germany from countries outside of the EU“.)

It is important to note that other Bundesländer (Federal States) may decide against this relaxation of the quarantine rule. So if you are currently in Germany, but not NRW, please inform yourself about regulations in your Bundesland.

Important: Please also inform yourself about the quarantine restrictions of your own country, so that you will not face trouble travelling back.

The federal states and our chancellor declared the following relaxations of Corona regulations (relevant to you):

1)      Starting Monday, 11 May, all shops are allowed to open again (provided they can offer the necessary hygenic safety measures)

2)      Opening of restaurants starting on 11 May, but with reduced seating

3)      Olderdissen Zoo opens again on 12 May 2020. (https://goo.gl/maps/biAuyKFTtgypPmZB8)

4)      Bielefeld’s museums are already open again.

5)      From 11 May onwards, playgrounds are open again.

6)      Contact to other people: Starting 11 May, it is permitted if people of 2 households meet in public.

Please continue to act responsible and sensible in public: Masks are still obligatory in shops, tram, train or bus and the 1,5 m gap between individuals should be upheld.

Bars and clubs are still closed and events/public parties not permitted to take place. Despite the changes, your semester will continue online. Most exams will be held online, too. Please contact your professors and talk to them about exams. Kindly ensure that your exam dates lie within the semester. You can only take exams if your are still enrolled, so your last exam should be 31 August at the latest.

Travel restrictions are still in place. Whenever you have travelled into another country, quaranteen regulations must be upheld for 14 days. There still is a world-wide travel warning.

(Political) developments in this region, North Rhine Westfalia (NRW): As of Monday (4/27), NRW has made wearing a mask mandatory when shopping and taking busses trams or trains. Masks can be bought in the following stores: Rossmann, DM, Real.

I would encourage you to post in the Incoming Whats App group if you know of any other stores or places where you can buy masks.

Please remember that you might have to pay a penalty fee if you go into a supermarket or store without a mask or use the regional travel without one.

Important: If you do not have a mask yet, a scarf wrapped around your mouth is (as of this week) also possible.

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One more point of interest: The university will reopen the University Library Campus Bielefeld from 27.04.2020 in restricted service operation. The reopening will be carried out under strict pre-cautions: Only for the purpose of lending printed literature to students, lecturers and other members of the university. The workstations, study rooms, PCs and printers, as well as services that require physical contact, still cannot be used. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the University Library Campus Bielefeld. Borrowing of printed books is only possible after pre-order via the self-check-out machines.

To enter and leave the library rooms you have to log in and log out at the designated places.

For more information on the precautions and rules of conduct in place at library locations, you can contact bib.info@fh-bielefeld.de.

Since 10 April 2020, the Robert Koch Institute no longer identifies any international areas as risky or particularly affected by COVID-19. The virus has spread world-wise. Outbreaks have occurred in a considerable number of countries, some of them with large case numbers; the exact case numbers of other countries are not known. There is therefore a risk of transmission both in Germany and in a vast number of regions worldwide. The Federal Foreign Office has issued a worldwide travel warning.

More information can be found here (only available in German): https://www.rki.de/DE/Content/InfAZ/N/Neuartiges_Coronavirus/Risikogebiete.html

Information for incoming exchange students in winter 2020/2021

Currently (as of 03 April 2020) we are operating under the assumption that the winter semester 2020/2021 at the FH Bielefeld will take place with courses that require physical attendance.

Since the situation is dynamic and might change, we recommend that you do not make any travel arrangements at the moment, if your (flight) tickets do not have a cancellation or re-booking policy.