Corona Virus Impact
In light of the coronavirus pandemic, we want to keep you updated on how the current situation and any new developments will impact our ministry here at Holsby. For those who have loved ones here, we want to assure you that we are doing what we can to protect this community and we are daily assessing the changes to make wise decisions in how to move forward.
First and foremost, that means that we are following the advice of local authorities. So far, regulations in Sweden are not as restrictive as in many other countries, which is allowing us to continue with some of our programs. We recognize that could quickly change and that we would then have to adjust accordingly. Though there are fewer restrictions, we are isolating ourselves as much as is necessary while also wanting to be of help to the local community.
Bible School
We’re glad to be able to run our 2020/21 Bible school in the midst of the uncertainties and challenges surrounding COVID-19. We welcome any new applicants who would like to join us during our spring term beginning April 3rd or our summer Bible school beginning July 4th. We are also accepting applications for the 21/22 Bible school year beginning on September 18th. More details about the program can be found on the website under Bible School.
We have put into place a number of guidelines to enable us to run our program as normal as possible while also wanting to protect the students, staff and community from the spread of COVID-19. The following is a summary of those guidelines:
Quarantine:
Sweden is not requiring a quarantine for travellers, but for the first 10 days of the students’ arrival, we will take more precautions and seek to isolate ourselves as much as possible. This will include more caution given to the activities we do, postponing outreaches in the local community, limiting interaction with staff families, and isolating individual students if they show certain symptoms.
Classes:
We are planning on having in-person classes as usual. At the moment our resident and guest lecturers are able and willing to teach in-person, which we feel is the best model for learning. As much as we can, we will spread out desks to keep some distance. Lecture recordings will be available for any missed lectures due to sickness.
In case of sickness:
As expected, every year we have people getting sick with colds and other seasonal flus. It has been our ongoing practice that when a student is sick, he or she communicates that to the staff member in their dorm and stays in their room and rests. Food is brought to them, so they don’t have to join everyone else for mealtimes. We have a whole separate, empty building that is available and ready in case we need to isolate a student or even a number of students. In order to keep this building available and avoid any sickness coming in from travelers, we will limit what guests we have during the fall term
Testing:
Testing is more readily available here in Sweden. It is still the medical authorities who determine whether or not a test is needed. If someone were to be tested positive, we would follow the authority’s guidelines. That would include isolation from others in the separate building mentioned above.
Hygiene:
We are practicing and enforcing good hygiene. This includes for example washing hands regularly but especially before meals, sanitizing/cleaning doorknobs and bathrooms on a regular basis, and dining room etiquette that limits what people are touching. Disinfection is available in every bathroom and other places around campus, ready to be used.
Travel:
We are asking that all students taking public transportation to Sweden would use a mask and have sanitizer with them that can be used during the course of their trip. We are also asking that each student brings a mask with them to be kept while attending Holsby. Masks are not required in Sweden, but we want you to be prepared if there should be a need.
As the school year goes along, we might have to make other adjustments to the program. We expect that anyone who plans to come to Holsby is prepared and open for that as we follow the current developments and changes in regulations. We are very comfortable with having students here and being able to run our regular program under the current situation. In everything, we want it to be as good of an experience as possible and a cherished time of learning.