COVID19 details

We would like to assure the applicants of the summer school that the health, safety, and well-being of JTELSS participants is our priority. We are planning the event to take place in the face-to-face format and we understand that there are multiple risks and challenges.

We are committed to do everything we can to ensure the health and safety of the participants. Please, read about the local COVID19 measures by the Greek government and our venue hotel on this page.

We have put in place additional COVID19-related requirements for all participants. Please, read about these requirements on this page [updated 14 May 2022]. As part of the registration process, we will ask you to agree to these requirements.

The JTEL summer school is a social event with a long tradition of doctoral training and a strong community. Our academic program and the training itself always receive positive comments and feedback from the participants. However, JTEL summer school is more than that! We meet for a week with people across the world who work on similar research topics, so that we can find like-minded people, collaborators, and friends. We can build trust and networks, meet experts and young talents, and hang-out in an informal and warm atmosphere. We gather in a remote location so that we can be away from everyday troubles and focus on learning and being together with people. The more formal part of the summer school activities can (and has been) done in the online format. However, we believe that the full experience in the face-to-face format is much greater and can bring much more value to the participants and to the entire research community!

Many events around the world have been canceled or changed to the online format. You might also have seen that the governments are temporarily closing borders or requiring to quarantine, the airlines are canceling flights, and people face difficulties and risks when traveling. These challenges have become a new norm for international travelers. Our local chairs will do everything to make the traveling experience smooth and comfortable. We will provide the latest information beforehand and will assist on the ground.

There is a risk that summer school participants will contract COVID19.

• If it happens more than two weeks before the summer school, and you fully recover, it should be possible to make the trip and participate. 
• If it happens less than two weeks before the event, you will unfortunately have to cancel the participation. In this case, we will be able to provide full or partial reimbursement of the registration fee (see our cancelation policy).
• If it happens during your trip to the summer school (the test upon arrival is positive), you will have to follow the government advice and self isolate (see details in the section “How can one travel to Greece” below). We will assist with medical services if they are needed. You will have to cancel your participation so as not to infect other participants.
• If it happens during the summer school (if you have symptoms, you can do a self-test or a rapid test in the hotel) if you have a positive result, you will have to self-isolate in the venue hotel [Updated 14 May 2022]. All other participants of the summer school will have to test for COVID19 as soon as possible. We will be able to organize the testing at the hotel.
• If it does not happen, we will still apply some prevention measures, such as being outside as much as possible and avoiding unnecessary contact with other guests and personnel of the hotel.

There is also a risk of an outbreak of the virus in the area of the event or in the hotel.

• If it happens, we will test the participants for COVID19 and might change our plans for excursions and other activities.

In any situation before, during and after the summer school, please, follow the guidance of the World Health Organization (link).

Halkidiki is in red color based on epidemiological indicators used by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Follow the link below to see, real-time, the epidemiological map of Greece.

The Tracking Covid-19 Greece map is updated on a weekly basis by the team of epidemiologists of the Committee of Experts of the Ministry of Health in collaboration with EODY and the Ministry of Civil Protection, taking into account the following epidemiological indicators:

• 7-day moving average of cases per 100,000 inhabitants
• 14-day number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants
• Control positivity index
• Weekly percentage change of cases
• Number of active cases
• Age distribution of cases
• Weekly number of new hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants
• Weekly number of deaths per 100,000 inhabitants
• Vaccination coverage rate
• Active case reproduction rate (Rt)
• Health system occupancy
• Contact tracking analysis
• Mutation analysis

From the past year, we can see that the number of COVID19 cases and hospitalizations in most countries decrease during the warmer months. Even though the situation in March and April might still be difficult, we hope that by the end of May, it will be safe to travel and to organize the event.

We understand that the participants will need some certainty to be able to plan their trip. Therefore, we will provide a clear description of conditions under which we will go ahead with the organization of the event in the face-to-face format and in which situations we will have to cancel the event. We will move the payment deadline as far as possible. We will also adjust our normal cancellation policy to allow more flexibility.

Conditions for the organization of the event in the face-to-face format

• The borders are open and international travel is allowed (normal visa requirements are applied).
• The flights are operating normally. There are no mass-cancellations.
• The local government does not require any quarantine for the fully vaccinated travelers (with vaccines approved by the Greek government).
• The local government allows public events of 80 people (the expected number of the summer school participants).
• The venue hotel is operational.

Timeline

A statement about the organization of the event in the face-to-face format will be posted at every point of the timeline. We will specify the details on each of the conditions presented above.

28.03.2022 Registration is open (updated, proceeding according to plan)

28.04.2022 Registration deadline (updated, proceeding according to plan)

21.05.2022 Participants arrive to the Summer School

Despite all the measures we are taking, there is a chance that we are unable to organize the summer school in the currently planned place and time.