Dear Students,

Please be informed that on 18. 11. 2021 the government of the Czech Republic adopted a new Resolution no. 1032, which, with effect from 00:00 (midnight) on 22 November 2021, amends the extraordinary measure of 27 October 2021 (file no. MZDR 14600/2021-20/MIN/KAN, as amended by the extraordinary measure of 1 November 2021, file no. MZDR 14600/2021-21/MIN/KAN, and the extraordinary measure of 12 November 2021, file no. MZDR 14600/2021-22/MIN/KAN), such that the following rule is rescinded: “...or the student undergoes, on the spot, a rapid antigen test (RAT) for the presence of antigens of the SARS-CoV-2 virus intended for self-testing (use by a lay person), and the result is negative; the same shall apply if the student demonstrates on the spot that they have undergone a rapid antigen test under the supervision of a healthcare professional through an online service no later than 24 hours ago and proves the taking of the test and its negative result through confirmation by a healthcare provider…”.

I. Entrance to dormitories

In practice, this will mean that, from 00:00 (midnight) on 22. 11. 2021, it will no longer be possible to present a self-test for admission to dormitories. Instead, admission to dormitories shall require the presentation of evidence of the following every 7 days:

1. vaccination against Covid-19, demonstrated through a national vaccination certificate or a certificate of completed vaccination issued in accordance with the European Union Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, provided that at least 14 days have elapsed since the completed vaccination schedule; a national certificate of vaccination is defined as written confirmation issued in at least the English language by an authorized entity operating in a third country, a specimen of which is published in the list of recognized national certificates on the website of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic; the written confirmation must include details of the vaccinated person, the type of vaccine administered, the date the vaccine was administered, and identification of the entity that issued the certificate. This data must be verifiable by remote access directly from the written confirmation, provided that the vaccination:

i. use of a medicinal product containing a Covid-19 vaccine which has been granted a marketing authorization in accordance with Regulation (EC) no.726/2004, or

ii. use of a medicinal product whose manufacture was compliant with the patent of the medicinal product referred to in point (i), provided that the medicinal product is also approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use,

2. recovery from Covid-19, with laboratory confirmation of the same, whereby the person has completed the period of mandatory isolation , and no more than 180 days have elapsed since their first positive rapid antigen test (RAT) for the presence of antigens of the SARS-CoV-2 virus or RT-PCR test for the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

3. PCR test not older than 72 hours, demonstrated by a confirmation from the health service provider,

4. antigen test not older than 24 hours, demonstrated by a confirmation from the health service provider.

II. Testing

In order to minimize the complications that will arise with the new government measure, I would like to inform you that every Monday a test team will be present at the designated times:

Hvězda Dormitory (gatehouse of block 3) 15.00 - 18.00

Jižní Město Dormitories (gatehouse of the Otava dormitory inside building) 15.00 - 18.00

17. listopad Dormitory (gatehouse block B) 15.00 - 18.00

The test team is organized by a healthcare provider, and will provide you with official confirmation once you have taken the test. The price of an antigen test has been reduced to 160 CZK.

The test team will currently provide antigen tests only; however, in the future we plan to expand the testing to include PCR tests. You will be informed of this in due course.

III. Right to take a PCR test

For the sake of completeness, I would also like to add that, under the Resolution of the Government of the Czech Republic no. 1029, also dated 18. 11. 2021, with effect from 00:00 (midnight) on 22. 11. 2021 until the revocation of this measure, a RT-PCR test to determine the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 must be performed on persons listed in Art. II who are covered by public health insurance in the Czech Republic, if they request an RT-PCR test and demonstrate this through a health insurance card or an equivalent document. This applies to persons referred to in Art. II a) to c) no more than five times per calendar month and, in the case of persons referred to in Art. II d), no more than two times per calendar month.

Art. II. then states:

Under Art. I, the following persons can take a test at their own request:

a) persons up to the age of 18,

b) persons who cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19 due to contraindications are obliged to demonstrate this fact to the health service provider performing the test through a record in the Information System of Infectious Diseases (ISIN) containing an explicit statement that the person cannot undergo vaccination against Covid-19 for health reasons, or by a medical certificate explicitly stating that the person cannot be vaccinated against Covid-19 for health reasons and that this is stated in the Infectious Diseases Information System (ISIN),

c) persons vaccinated against covid-10, if

i. 14 days have not elapsed between the application of the first dose of vaccine in the case of the single dose schedule according to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) and the date of the request for a test, or

ii. in the case of a two-dose schedule under the SPC, they have not yet received the second dose of the vaccine and, as of the day on which a test was requested, the maximum period set for application the second dose of vaccine according to the SPC has not elapsed since the first dose of the vaccine, or iii) in the case of a two-dose schedule under the SPC, a period of 14 days has not elapsed on the date on which the test was requested; they are obliged to demonstrate this fact to the health service provider performing the test,

d) persons who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 and demonstrates this through a national vaccination certificate or a certificate issued in accordance with the European Union Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate, provided that at least 14 days have elapsed since the completed vaccination schedule; a national certificate of vaccination is defined as written confirmation issued in at least the English language by an authorized entity operating in a third country, a specimen of which is published in the list of recognized national certificates on the website of the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic; the written confirmation must include details of the vaccinated person, the type of vaccine administered, the date the vaccine was administered, and identification of the entity that issued the certificate. This data must be verifiable by remote access directly from the written confirmation, provided that the vaccination was performed through:

i. use of a medicinal product containing a Covid-19 vaccine which has been granted a marketing authorization in accordance with Regulation (EC) no.726/2004, or

ii. use of a medicinal product whose manufacture was compliant with the patent of the medicinal product referred to in point (i), provided that the medicinal product is also approved by the World Health Organization for emergency use,

I believe that you will continue to take a responsible attitude to all the announced measures and the restrictions resulting from them, for which I express my sincere gratitude.

JUDr. Tomáš Horáček

Bursar

Prague, 19. 11. 2021