Information about coronavirus (COVID-19)

According to the information published by the Ministry of Health, the following are classified as areas with evidence of community transmission of COVID-19:

• China (all provinces, including Hong Kong and Macao); the risk is highest in Hubei province, where the most intensive sustained community transmission has taken place.
• South Korea
• Japan 
• Singapore
• Iran
• Italy (Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Sicily regions).

The Ministry of Health recommends not travelling to these areas unless it is essential. The health recommendations and preventive measures published regularly by the Ministry of Health can be consulted here:

https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/sanidadExterior/salud/home.htm

In all cases, you are recommended to travel abroad with health insurance that covers the possible health risks. To this end, UPV/EHU offers its staff a policy named IBILI BEREZI, which can be taken out through the Assets Service (Servicio de Patrimonio):

https://www.ehu.eus/es/web/kontratazioa/aseguruak

Everybody in these areas is urged to follow and keep up to date with the recommendations issued by the local authorities.

In any case, depending on how events develop, the UPV/EHU, in coordination with the competent authorities in this area, will inform any member of the university community currently in the said areas of any possible need for repatriation in the light of exceptional circumstances that might arise as a result of the epidemic of COVID-19.

Furthermore, general information and recommendations for action in the Basque Country in the light of coronavirus published by the Basque Government Department of Health can be consulted here:

https://www.euskadi.eus/informacion-y-recomendaciones-generales-de-actuacion-en-euskadi-ante-el-nuevo-coronavirus/web01-a2gaixo/es/

Finally, people coming from risk areas are asked to follow these recommendations scrupulously:

https://www.mscbs.gob.es/profesionales/saludPublica/ccayes/alertasActual/nCov-China/documentos/Recomendaciones_regreso_area_riesgo.pdf

Further information

- On 24th February 2020 the Ministry of Universities, through the Spanish University Internationalisation Service, published a communiqué on COVID-19 which said the following:

http://sepie.es/doc/comunicacion/prensa/2020/COVID_19.pdf

- On 25th February 2020 the European Commission published a note with exceptional measures in relation to ERASMUS+ programmes:

http://www.erasmusplus.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/012-Coronavirus-%E2%80%93-exceptional-measures-with-regard-to-Erasmus-and-European-Solidarity-Corps-projects.pdf

The text of the above European Commission Note reads as follows:

In the context of the measures taken by the Italian Government to contain the spread of the Coronavirus infection in Northern Italy, I would like to inform you that the measures announced in our note of 31 January 2020 (ref. Ares (2020) 619972) shall be considered fully applicable to any mobility in affected areas of programme and partner countries where the virus is detected and which are considered at risk. 

In line with the abovementioned note, National Agencies are requested to inform the participating organisations concerned and instruct them to contact the individual participants who already are in, or are planning to leave for the affected areas within the coming days or weeks.

Participants should also be reminded of the assistance that can be provided by embassies, consulates and honorary consulates in the country of their stay. It is for the participating organisations and individuals to decide on the course of action to take in the light of national travel advice and repatriation schemes.

The National Agencies should however monitor closely, in cooperation with the participating organisation, if the area of the planned mobility can be considered safe by the time of travel for the entire duration of the mobility or project activity. Please be reminded that National Agencies may apply the force majeure clause to activities taking place in any affected area as well as to incoming mobility from these areas, as foreseen in the template of the grant agreement between National Agencies and the beneficiaries and as defined in the programme guide and other contractual documents.

National Agencies may thereby cancel, postpone or move activities planned in such regions in the most flexible way, notwithstanding the respect of the general legal framework applying to Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps. Given the exceptional circumstances, the same principles can be applied also to any incoming mobility from affected regions. However, when assessing additional costs linked to a case of force majeure, the National Agencies should apply the provisions established in section 3.16 of the Guide for National Agencies.

Justified repatriation costs will be accepted as exceptional costs, whereas normal reporting requirements apply. For further information or clarification, do not hesitate to contact the Commission through its NA desk officer by sending an email to EAC-NA-COORDINATION@ec.europa.eu.