On May 7, 2020, the Berlin Senate issued new amendments to the ordinance on measures to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The changes come in response to the general and cautious trend toward relaxing restrictions on social contact and interactions, including aspects related to science and research.

General information and regulations can be found in the official press release from the state of Berlin (in German): https://www.berlin.de/sen/wissenschaft/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2020/pressemitteilung.929931.php

Preparations for transitioning to limited on-site operations in research and administration

Freie Universität Berlin is currently running only essential on-site operations. The various offices and departments of Freie Universität have already begun planning how to gradually resume operations in research and administration over the next days and weeks in such a way as to respect the necessary hygiene and physical distancing measures that will be required.

Teaching and studying will continue remotely through digital formats without physical contact.

Educational operations during the 2020 summer semester are being conducted through a large selection of digital courses that do not require physical contact. As a rule, there will be no face-to-face classroom teaching, and examinations are to be held in digital form whenever possible; only in justified cases can examinations and certain practice-based formats be conducted on site, and then only in compliance with hygiene regulations. The various offices and departments of Freie Universität Berlin will establish appropriate plans.

Libraries

Freie Universität Berlin’s libraries will continue to remain closed to the public. Through close coordination with the other Berlin universities, a three-stage plan is being developed that will allow the libraries to gradually resume on-site services. In the next several days, certain libraries at Freie Universität Berlin will resume their lending services with as little physical contact as possible. These limited services will allow library users to check out items from the libraries’ collections. At a later point in time, the libraries will introduce limited access to the public, which will allow people to use the libraries’ workspaces again. Concurrently, the libraries will continue to build up their digital services as well as continue to emphasize their digitization services. Please check your library's website regularly for up-to-date information.