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The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

You are here Courses > Undergraduate > Five-Year Integrated Pharmacy Programme (M.Pharm) > COVID FAQS

Return to Campus Information for Undergraduate Students 2021-2022

Welcome to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to our new Junior Fresh students and welcome back to all our continuing students.  
In these unprecedent times, we have introduced new plans and procedures to ensure all our staff and students can work and study safely while on campus.
Below is information relevant to students on the Five Year Integrated Programme. For up to date information on the return to campus, see here.

  1. New Semester
  2. Delivery of Classes
  3. Personal Belongings
  4. Contacting Teaching Staff
  5. Precautionary Measures
  6. Hilary Term Assessment
  7. What To Do If You Have Symptoms (while at home)
  8. What To Do If You Have Symptoms (while on campus)
  9. Close Contact and Casual Contact
  10. What To Do If You Are A Close Contact of A Confirmed Case
  11. What To Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19
  12. What To Do If There Is A Confirmed Case On Campus
  13. Student Spaces
  14. Further Updates
  15. Contact the School

New Semester (Hilary term)

Teaching activities will begin on Monday, 24th January. Reading week will be after 6 weeks of teaching in week 28 (week of 7th  – 11th March).

Teaching term will run until week 33 (Friday, 15th April).

The Semester 2 assessment period is set to run from 3rd May. 

Delivery of Classes

For semester 2 things will fully return to normal, subject of course to prevailing public health guidelines after Christmas.At present the wearing of face coverings is mandatory for all teaching and learning events for all students and staff (unless exempt on medical grounds), in all the Libraries, and public areas of the campus

Personal Belongings

For safety reasons, personal belongings like coats, bags,.etc cannot be brought to laboratories during practicals, or left unattended anywhere else in the Panoz building. Trinity provides a number of lockers that can be rented by students, on a first come first served basis (details below).

STUDENT LOCKER rentals 2021/2022 Academic Year
Student lockers are available in the following locations:

  • Arts
  • Hamilton
  • Panoz
  • Lloyd
  • Trinity Bio Science Institute (TBSI)
  • 7/9 South Leinster Street
  • St James Hospital (Trinity Centre)

You can reserve a locker on the TCard portal, all Students registered for the 2021/22 Academic Year are eligible to rent a locker at https://tcard.tcd.ie

Note - Payment is made using debit or credit card.
Lockers will be offered on a first come first served basis for a period of 9 months commencing Wednesday 29th September 2021 until Friday 1st July 2022, rental fee of €20.00.

Contacting Teaching Staff

Teaching staff will continue to be available to answer student queries about lectures and labs. In face to face sessions, there may be opportunity to interact with the lecturer during the class or using the chat function on Backboard (depending on the class size). Where this is not possible, you can also email the lecturer directly with your query after the session. Contact details for lecturers can be found here.

Precautionary Measures

The wearing of face coverings for indoor teaching activities by students is mandatory under Government Public Health measures and is a requirement at Trinity. Any exception to not wearing a face covering for medical reasons will need to be medically verified. Other areas that require face coverings are the Library, study spaces, dedicated research space and indoor public areas. 

Students will be responsible for the cleaning of their own individual workspace prior to and after each teaching event using sanitiser gel from their own individual hand sanitisers and paper towels provided by Estates and Facilities.

  1. Arrival: to minimize contact, students should arrive no earlier than 5-10 minutes prior their classes and proceed straight to the lecture theatre/lab. Please apply hand sanitizer upon entering campus and immediately prior entering the lab.
  2. Circulation: Access and egress to practical classes will be done through the Panoz main entrance and stairs. A “keep-right” circulation system is in place.  
  3. After class and during class breaks: Please sanitise your hands after a class and before and after breaks.

Hilary Term Assessment

Exams for Hilary term begin the week commencing 3rd May (week 36).

What To Do if You Have Symptoms (while at home)

Common symptoms of coronavirus are a fever, a cough, shortness of breath, loss or change to your sense of taste or smell. 
If you develop symptoms of coronavirus, you will need to self-isolate and phone your GP straight away to get a test. People you live with will need to restrict their movements (stay at home) if they are not fully vaccinated.

Do not attend your face-to-face classes. Contact your tutor and the module coordinator(s) to let them know you will not be able to attend face-to-face classes.

What To Do if You Have Symptoms (while on campus)

The rising incidence of Covid-19 across the country is an important reminder for all students and staff members that it is vital to follow the basic HSE guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19 which can be found here.

Symptoms of Covid-19 can be similar to symptoms of cold, flu or hay fever. Please read details of symptoms to be aware of on the HSE website here.

If you have any symptoms of Covid-19

  • self-isolate in your own room
  • get a Covid-19 test as soon as possible.
  • while waiting on a test or results of a test - DO NOT GO to lectures, catering outlets, shops or socialise in any way

Please remember that no student or staff member will be disadvantaged for staying away from lectures for this reason.

People can also be infectious even before they show symptoms of Covid-19, and you can spread Covid-19 during this time. If you are in doubt about any symptoms you have, phone your GP or College Health Centre.

Close Contact and Casual Contact

Close contact can mean spending more than 15 minutes of face-to-face contact within 2 metres of someone who has coronavirus, indoor or outdoor, or living in the same house or shared accommodation as someone who has coronavirus, or sitting within 2 seats of someone who has coronavirus on public transport or an airplane. Spending more than 2 hours in an indoor space with someone who has COVID-19 will sometimes count as close or casual contact. This could be an office or a classroom. But it will depend on the size of the room and other factors.

If you are a close contact, fully vaccinated and do not have symptoms of COVID-19 - you may not need to restrict your movements or get a test. A contact tracer will tell you what you should do when they phone you.

You may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, but you do not meet the definition to be a close contact. This is a casual contact. If you are a casual contact, you do not need to restrict your movements. You do not need to get tested.

What To Do If You Are a Close Contact of A Confirmed Case

If you are a close contact of a person that tests positive for COVID-19 (coronavirus), what you need to do depends on if you:

  • have symptoms of COVID-19
  • are vaccinated against COVID-19
  • have a weak immune system
  • had a positive COVID-19 PCR test in the last 9 months

If you have symptoms

If you are a close contact and you have symptoms of COVID-19 you need to:

Do these even if you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or had a previous positive COVID-19 PCR test.

You will get a text message with a link to a website where you can provide your details. When you have done that, you will get a text message with appointment details for your free COVID-19 PCR test.

People you live with need to restrict movements (stay at home) if they are not fully vaccinated.

If you do not have symptoms

Fully vaccinated

You need to do antigen tests if you are a close contact, are fully vaccinated and do not have symptoms of COVID-19.

You will get a text message with a link to a website where you can provide your details. When you have done that, you will get a text message with information about your antigen tests.

If you are a household close contact and you are fully vaccinated and you do not have symptoms, you need to restrict movements (stay at home) until you have 3 negative antigen test results within 5 days.

A household close contact is someone who was in close contact with a person who tested positive in a residential setting. For example, a house, flat or apartment.

Not fully vaccinated

If you are a close contact and you do not have symptoms of COVID-19 and you are not fully vaccinated you need to:

  • get a COVID-19 PCR test
  • restrict your movements (stay at home)

You will get a text message with a link to a website where you can provide your details. When you have done that, you will get a text message with appointment details for your free COVID-19 PCR test.

If you have a weak immune system

If you are a close contact and you have a weak immune system, you may need to get a COVID-19 PCR test, even if you are fully vaccinated. This is because you may not get the same level of protection from the vaccine as other people if you have a weak immune system (immunosuppressed).

You will get a text message with a link to a website where you can provide your details. When you have done that, you will get a text message with details about your free COVID-19 test.

Positive PCR test in the past 2 weeks

If you had a positive PCR test in the past 2 weeks and you are a close contact, you do not need another test. You must self-isolate (stay in your room) for the full 10 days as advised after your positive result.

Positive PCR test more than 9 months ago

If you had COVID-19 over 9 months ago, you are no longer immune. Follow the general advice for close contacts.

Positive PCR test more than 2 weeks ago and less than 9 months ago

If you do not have any symptoms of COVID-19, you do not need another test. You do not need to restrict your movements.

 

What To Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19

  • Self-isolate and follow the guidance on the HSE website here
  • If you are resident in Trinity, contact the Accommodation Office.
  • Please notify the course director, Assoc. Prof. Astrid Sasse, sassea@tcd.ie. The course director will notify the Head of School, Prof. John Gilmer.

 

What To Do If There Is A Confirmed Case On Campus

Student Spaces

Student online class spaces are bookable spaces for students to use if you are already on campus for a face to face class and have an online class shortly before or after. Please bring your laptop and your headphones. These spaces are:

  1. Exam Hall, Front Square - 7pm -10pm (Mon-Fri) , 9am-10pm(Sun-Sat)
  2. Trinity Hall, Dartry (residents only)
  3. Arts Building Beckett 1, Computer Room (PC) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  4. Arts Building Beckett 2, Computer Room (iMac) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  5. Hamilton, Computer Room EE1 (PC) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  6. Hamilton, Computer Room EE2 (PC) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  7. Hamilton, Computer Room EE3 (PC) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  8. Hamilton, Computer Room EE4 (iMac) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  9. South Leinster Streer (SLS) 4th Floor Computer Room (PC) 8:30am - 7pm (Mon-Fri) [Only for MSc in Computer Science students - Postgrads]
  10. Áras an Phiarsaigh, Computer Room AP0.12 (PC) 9 am - 6 pm (Mon-Fri)
  11. Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI), B-2 Computer Lab (PC) 9 am -6 pm (Mon-Fri)

Remember, you need a booking to get access to a venue. Opening times vary from 8:30am to 10:00pm Monday to Sunday.

The booking form can be found here.

Further Updates

The COVID-19 situation continues to change regularly. Continue to check your emails for further updates and check the TCD Covid-19 information page here.
Keep an eye on the School website and social media channels (Twitter and Facebook).

Up to date information on COVID-19 from the HSE (Health Service Executive) can be found here and from Citizens Information can be found here.

We are continuously updating the information on this page. If there is any information here which differs from the HSE guidelines, HSE information prevails.

Contact the School

If you have any questions about the academic year that have not been addressed here, please contact the School at Pharmacy@tcd.ie or 01 896 2809.
The School Office will be open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.