Article

Operating shared resource laboratories in times of a pandemic is a challenge for research institutes. To address this challenge, imaging core facility managers of research institutes, all members of the German BioImaging (GerBI‐GMB) – a Society for Microscopy and Image Analysis, discussed how shared microscopes could be operated with minimal risk of spreading SARS‐CoV‐2 between users and staff. The Imaging Facility of the MPI-CBG was also part of this group. The recently published article in the journal Cytometry A describes a set of guidelines. The facility managers address aspects of social distancing, separating users in space and time, keeping surfaces virus free, wearing face masks and other safety measures essential to run shared resource laboratories.

The guidelines should help to protect users and staff working in a low safety environment (mostly biosafety Level 1) from an infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 and are based on the current still fragmentary knowledge of this virus. These recommendations may also be useful for other types of shared resource laboratories.