The winter semester at the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice continues by combining attendance and distance forms of education. Priority is given to practical exercises in clinical workplaces, laboratories and on a school farm. They are conducted in person in small groups with respect to all available hygiene measures (drape, disinfection, spacing, shortened lessons, temperature measurement). Theoretical teaching (lectures, seminars) was compulsorily transformed into a distance form in the online space and moved to the second part of the semester, when due to the increase in positive cases of COVID-19, the attendance form of teaching could be completely interrupted. The school tries to adapt the teaching conditions as much as possible to the needs and possibilities of individual study groups. The third year of the study program in general veterinary medicine has already moved to the distance form of study in its entirety.
As of October 8, 2020, UVMP is registering seven students who have tested positive for COVID-19. So far, none of the university staff has been positively diagnosed. The school took all measures in its premises and in the dormitories according to the recommendation of the Public Health Office of the Slovak Republic to prevent the spread of the disease. It encourages all students and staff to pay close attention to wearing masks, keeping distances, washing hands, minimizing social contacts, and following other rules.
The university focused all its capacities on enabling students to complete the prescribed volume and scope of practical, clinical and laboratory exercises. This is required by the EU directive on regulated professions, such as veterinary and pharmacist.
Hygienic conditions and control of their observance in the school premises and in student dormitories have been tightened. Classes have been shortened, ventilated and disinfected more often. Student dormitories continue to have a total ban on visits, closing at 11 p.m. Body temperature is measured at the entrance to the dormitories and at the entrance to the buses, which provide transport for practical training in the school’s special-purpose facilities.