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The Safe Campus Project- Resilience of Academic Institutions during the COVID-19 Crisis
COVID ; 2(10):1435-1448, 2022.
Article in English | MDPI | ID: covidwho-2071259
ABSTRACT
In this study, we describe how to keep a campus safe and 'open';by implementing a proactive, as opposed to reactive, strategy (the Green Zone strategy). The pillars are leadership, clear communication, clean air, vaccination campaigns, and intense efforts in mass testing. Over a period of 12 months, about 277,000 pooled real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) samples and lateral flow tests (LFTs) were collected, and 201 people were identified as COVID-19-positive. For the PCRs, we use the Lollipop technique, combined with nose swabs and gargle samples, to minimize sample-collection efforts. Importantly, not only staff, students, and contractors, but also their family members, friends, and partners;daycare centers;and local sports and arts teams, etc., were invited and participated. This outreach made it possible to propagate the tests more widely and monitor a larger network. At times of larger social gatherings-most prominently, on 23 December 2021 before Christmas (during the rise of the Omicron wave)-testing capacities were increased. The results not only demonstrate the great power of mass testing in providing an open-but-safe work environment, even if the surroundings are highly infectious (red zone), but also the strength and resilience of a university. It shows how the unique pillars of science, infrastructure, students, and independency make it possible to maneuver a community, even through unpredictable times.

Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: MDPI Language: English Journal: COVID Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: MDPI Language: English Journal: COVID Year: 2022 Document Type: Article