Extraordinary times at PSI
Monday, 16 March 2020: The Swiss Federal Council reacts to the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic and declares a nationwide state of emergency. On the same day, the Paul Scherrer Institute moves up to the third-highest level of operational restrictions, which allow at most only 20 percent of all PSI staff to be present at PSI. Everyone who can should work from home – according to the guidelines from the Federal Council. Five pictures tell the story of how research and operations nevertheless continued at PSI. Since October 2020, all PSI employees in comparable situations have been wearing masks in accordance with regulations.
Text: Christian Heid
Since the beginning of the pandemic, research on the novel coronavirus has been given the highest priority. The Biology and Chemistry Division intensified its collaboration with other institutions – such as the University Hospital of Zurich, for example – in order to advance research on SARS-CoV-2. In the biology laboratories, where otherwise at least four people would be going about their work, only two are on site.
Proton therapy, too, is among the vital operational units, and it is not only the treatment of cancer patients that carries on seamlessly. The sessions in which follow-up reports are discussed, including imaging of previously treated patients, will also continue in the same way as before the pandemic. Everyone necessary takes part, whether on site in the meeting room or by video from their home offices.
The operation of the X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL is suspended during the state of emergency, but electricians at the new beamline called Athos – as in other places at PSI – keep up the pace of their work to get it into operation as soon as possible. The teams are distributed around the facility in such a way as to guarantee compliance with the social-distancing requirements.
Even during the state of emergency, it is still possible to do research on the structural analysis of proteins at PSI. This knowledge is urgently needed for research on the coronavirus. Since researchers from abroad are not permitted entry to Switzerland, they send their samples by courier. At the Swiss Light Source SLS, remote control of the robot arm was improved just in time. While 30 percent of the experiments could already be carried out via remote control before the coronavirus pandemic began, this quota was increased to 100 percent shortly before the beginning of the crisis.
IT services in particular are in high demand during the state of emergency: To enable nearly 2,000 employees to work from home, additional laptops and licences need to be purchased. The infrastructure for videoconferences and telephone service is being expanded as rapidly as possible. Despite the low on-site presence in the IT department, all requests can be handled quickly. Employees can continue working safely from home.
