At WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management’s campus in Vallendar, a student of the Bachelor program has been tested positive for COVID-19. The infected person shows mild symptoms and has been put under quarantine by public health authorities. As a precautionary measure, a 14-day quarantine was imposed on the entire semester track of the affected person. The business school provided the health authorities with all necessary information on Sunday. The school is in close contact with the public health department, the district administration of Mayen-Koblenz and the municipality of Vallendar. As for other students, teaching continues in hybrid format.
After almost seven months, there is a new corona case at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. Last week, the infected student has only participated in online courses, but had had contact with several fellow students in his private environment. The students, who were in contact with the infected person, had already been requested to enter quarantine on Sunday, September 20, by WHU’s management. On Monday, the district administration of Mayen-Koblenz imposed a 14-day quarantine for the entire track of the Bachelor program as a precautionary measure.
WHU is in close contact with the authorities and the community to prevent further infections. But the business school is prepared if such a case should occur. "Just like other educational institutions, we had to expect a COVID-19 infection among our students or employees. We understand the concerns of the people living in the vicinity of WHU and are aware of our responsibility. Accordingly, we have taken precautionary measures, developed a sophisticated hygiene concept, and communicated detailed behavioral guidelines for our students and employees. We have carefully prepared ourselves for the case of an infection", assures Professor Dr. Markus Rudolf, dean of WHU. "Based on the login data and our electronic access control, we can confirm the statement of the affected student that he participated in class exclusively online week before. On Sunday morning, we were already able to provide the authorities with all the data necessary for the quarantine measures. We assume, that we are able to prevent the spread of the infection this way".
For the time being, classes are continuing online for the affected track. Other programs will continue as usual in hybrid format. Switching to online teaching poses no problem for WHU. Even during the lockdown in March, the business school was capable of upholding courses and exams without interruption. "We have learned a lot in this time", explains the dean, "and have expanded the necessary technical capacities.”
Flexible regulations on working from home, which have been in place since the lockdown, continue to apply to WHU employees. The graduation ceremony for the Bachelor and Master programs, planned for September 25 in Vallendar, has been cancelled by WHU in coordination with public health authorities as a precautionary measure. WHU’s campus in Düsseldorf is not affected by these measures.
Please find more information on how WHU has prepared for the return of the students to campus here.