Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS

Updated 01. 03. 2021

In connection with the Extraordinary Measure issued by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic on 26 February 2021 and in order to ensure a safe working environment, the Director of the IEM issues the following instructions:

This obligation applies in all internal spaces of the IEM. You must:

• have a covered mouth and nose with a respirator or other protective device without an exhalation valve, with a filtration efficiency of at least 94% (ie class FFP2 / KN 95 / FFP3) or a medical face mask (also referred to as a "disposable surgical mask"),
• use hand disinfection when entering the building

Until the review of the measures, the public is not allowed to enter the IEM's internal premises, except for IEM employees, external collaborators and visits with the consent of the department's management / managers.

The entry ban also applies to the above-mentioned entities (ie IEM employees, collaborators and visits) in the event that:

• they experience symptoms of a viral disease (ie fever, runny nose, cough, headache, joint pain, general weakness and lethargy, etc.) or these symptoms have occurred in another member of their common household for 14 days from the initial symptoms,
• have been in direct contact with a person (currently) tested positive for COVID-19, for a period of 14 days from the last contact with this person or for the period of quarantine ordered by the Regional Hygiene Station (if the period is longer than 14 days),
• they were tested positive for COVID-19 for the period of isolation ordered by the Regional Hygiene Station or until the end of treatment, but for at least 14 days.

In the above cases, the IEM employee is obliged to immediately inform his / her superior about this fact and agree together on further steps (work from home, etc.), as well as to inform all his colleagues with whom he has recently been in direct contact.

These colleagues then also inform their superiors and remain at home in home office for preventive reasons (during the quarantine period, ie 14 days) or during temporary incapacity for work.

In addition to the above obligations and prohibitions, I recommend:

• Where possible, divide employees into groups that will rotate in the workplace according to a set schedule. The determination of the schedule is the responsibility of the department's managers. It is necessary to ensure that individual groups of employees do not meet each other in the workplace (eg group no. 1 - odd weeks, group no. 2 - even weeks).
• Employees who belong to one of the more vulnerable groups, ie. persons with severe chronic illness, weakened immunity, older age, etc., consider home office for the duration of the adverse epidemiological situation.
• Limit as much as possible: staff meetings (convert the necessary meetings to online), THS visits, meeting visitors and external collaborators at IEM.
• Responsibly observe all epidemiological measures outside the IEM workplace (according to the regulations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Czech Republic).
• Make the most of testing options.

At the same time, I ask that you consider visiting the secretariat, which is fully available to you in necessary cases.

The above measures are mainly based on the Extraordinary Measures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and government regulations. In the event that these regulations (measures) are tightened / relaxed, I would like to point out that the current issued government regulations (measures) apply.

This instruction shall enter into force and effect on 1 March 2021.

Miroslava Anděrová, PhD., Director, m.p.