Modified face mask policy

From the 15th January, it has been mandatory for everyone to wear a face mask at all times within the buildings of educational institutions. As was announced by the government on 14th January, this extension of the face mask measure within higher education is the condition set for the easing of the lockdown for higher education. Wearing a face mask was previously only mandatory in the general areas of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, and especially when moving around. However from Saturday 15th January students and staff in all areas of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, including the classrooms, are obliged to wear a (preferably medical) face mask.

There are only a few exceptions to this:   

• If wearing a face mask is a hinderance for a lecturer or when teaching or during research activities and a distance of 1.5 meters can be kept, he/she may decide to take off the mask. The teacher/researcher should then remain at the front of the class. This also applies to students that e.a. need to make a presentation for the class, they may take off their face mask with the approval of the lecturer or researcher.    

• Taking off the face mask to eat or drink something is only allowed if with at least a distance of 1.5 meters from others.  

• For THUAS employees the standard still applies: work from home as much as possible. Employees that do need to work on campus, are also obliged to wear a face mask. Only in workplaces where 1.5 metres can be maintained and/or where people are seated in a workplace behind Plexiglas, may the face mask be taken of.  

• You may have a medical reason for not wearing a face mask. If that is the case, you are in possession of a ‘eigen verklaring uitzondering mondkapjesplicht’.    

If you, as lecturer or researcher, have doubts about certain situations then please discuss them with colleagues or with your supervisor. If you have any questions, you can also contact the Safety Reporting & Advisory Centre.    

We understand that this requires further adjustment from all of you, one that will also raise questions for some of you. Nevertheless, we urge you to comply with this legal requirement that the government has imposed on us in order to better combat the Omikron variant, and hold each other to account. This is after all the condition under which we can again offer our regular education on site and welcome our students back to our campuses. That is worth a lot to us.   

The Executive Board   

Elisabeth Minnemann, Hans Camps, Rajash Rawal