Useful covid19 iNFO

Is the Pandemic Over?

No. The Pandemic is far from over and the Taoiseach and other leaders have said that it may remain with us for some time, however, some of the most severe restrictions have been eased by government from 6am on Saturday 22nd of January 2022.

what restrictions remain in place?

According to RTÉ News:

A limited number of protective measures will remain in place for the coming month:

• The wearing of masks where they are currently required will continue.
• Protective measures will remain in place in primary and secondary schools.
• The advice for those with symptoms, positive cases and close contacts remains in place.
• The Taoiseach said these will be reviewed before the end of February, by which time all children aged between 5 and 11 will have had the opportunity to be fully vaccinated.

What restrictions have been removed?

According to RTÉ News:

• Guidance in relation to household visiting will no longer apply

• Restrictions on capacity for all indoor and outdoor events will no longer apply

• Closing time for hospitality and events will return to normal

• Covid pass requirement for access to hospitality and indoor activities will no longer apply

• Various requirements around managing people's movements at indoor hospitality and entertainment venues will no longer be required

• Phased return to the workplace for all staff can commence

Because of the international situation, there are no changes to the current measures in place in relation to international travel.

What does this mean for 2nd semester of College in Maynooth University and ST patricks pontifical university maynooth?

According to an all student email from the Registrar of Maynooth University on the 25th of January 2022: 

What is changing?

As you know, on Friday evening the government announced a significant relaxation of the COVID protective measures.  These changes reflect the progress in dealing with the pandemic, and the revised public health advice.  But the pandemic is not over yet, and we still need to have some protective measures in place.  This is a summary of the changes you can expect:

Limits on capacity have been removed. This means that we no longer need to restrict the numbers in teaching spaces, meeting rooms or at events. The consequences of this include:

• The Library will return to normal capacity, so there will be more spaces to study in the library.
• Social seating will be reinstated so there will be more places to sit. 
• Restaurants and catering venues can return to normal capacity, and normal spacing.
• We will remove the need for staggered starts to lectures, and teaching can return to normal start and end times.

COVID certification: The requirement for a COVID cert for entry to venues has been removed.  This means that you will not need a COVID cert to go to the catering facilities on campus.

Signing-in for contact tracing:  You will no longer need to use the MU Check-In app to record attendance for contact tracing purposes.

Teaching:  Most teaching will resume on campus on 31 January on the same basis as in semester 1.  This means that (i) most lectures over 250 will be remote, (ii) all other teaching will be on campus, (iii) some courses may switch to remote teaching temporarily when staff are unable to attend for short periods because of COVID.

Clubs and Societies:  Clubs and Societies will return to normal on-campus events.

What is remaining?

These changes will mean that the campus will be different in the next semester.  However, we still need to be careful, and we are retaining a number of protective measures.  These are the measures we will retain:

Mask wearing:  You will still need to wear a mask when indoors when you are within 2 metres of others, except when in the catering venues.  For most people a normal cloth mask is sufficient, but if you are over 60, are particularly vulnerable, or have been a close contact in the last 10 days, you are advised to wear a Medical or FFP2 mask. 

These masks are available for those who need them at the student helpdesk in the John Hume building. If want to collect Medical or FFP masks you should first register by clicking here.   When you have completed the online form, you can collect extra masks from the Student Helpdesk.  However please note that you should be wearing a Medical or FFP mask before you come on campus to collect the additional masks.

Antigen tests:  We are making Antigen tests available for all MU students.   You can pick up a pack of three tests from the Student Helpdesk in the John Hume building, and can pick up additional tests each week if you need them.

Sanitisers:  You will continue to see sanitisers around the campus, and we want you to sanitise your hands regularly.

Cleaning:  We will continue our enhanced cleaning regime, which increased the frequency of cleaning of touch-surfaces.

Ventilation:  We will continue to use enhanced ventilation.   This means that there will be a higher airflow in the rooms with mechanical ventilation, and that we will have the windows open in the rooms with natural ventilation.

Air filtration: We are installing HEPA standard air filtration systems in the naturally ventilated teaching spaces.  These will filter the air and remove viruses and other contaminants.  These will allow us to reduce the amount of external fresh air, and keep the rooms a little less chilly.

Outdoor tents:  We will reinstate the outdoor tents to provide covered outside seating space.

Campus concierges: We will continue to have a team of campus concierges (in red hoodies) to remind you of the need to wear a mask.

What to do if you have COVID?

If you have symptoms of COVID, you should not come on campus and you should follow the HSE guidance for self-isolation available here.

If you are confirmed to have COVID through a PCR or Antigen test and have been on campus in the previous 10 days please notify the MU COVID Response team by completing the online form here. 

These are significant changes, and we hope that they will make your experience in the second semester much closer to normal university life.   I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your cooperation and patience over the recent months as we worked with public health restrictions.  I hope that you will continue to take care with mask wearing and sanitisation for a little longer, to help keep our campus as free from COVID as possible.