Published: October 1, 2020.
News wire exclusive

REVIEW – UK Universities Grapple With COVID-19 Outbreaks as Students Return to Campus

MOSCOW, October 1 (Sputnik) – Universities across the United Kingdom traditionally welcome new and returning students in the final two weeks of September, although this year has seen dozens of higher education institutions battle outbreaks of COVID-19 as the fall semester gets underway.

As young people from different corners of the United Kingdom, as well as from abroad, descended on university towns across the country, clusters of the coronavirus disease were identified in student halls of residence, sending them into lockdown.

At Manchester Metropolitan University, as many as 1,500 students were told on Friday that they would be required to self-isolate in their halls of residence for two weeks after 127 positive tests for the coronavirus disease were confirmed in the accommodation facility. The Manchester Evening News daily has since said that a further 10 cases were identified.

The 2019/20 academic year was highly disrupted as COVID-19 began to spread across the globe this past spring. Students were sent home, all teaching was moved online, and final exams were canceled.

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Speakers

Nick Hillman, Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute

“I think increasingly we’re seeing universities make sure students that are self-isolating are getting the support they need, and that might be food, that might be mental health support, it might be someone just checking in on them making sure they’re OK, making sure they’ve got toiletries and other things we all need to live our daily lives,” Hillman said.

Larissa Kennedy, President of the National Union of Students

“Many students have left home for the first time and are living with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings. To be trapped in their accommodation without the opportunity to return to their families if they wish will only add anxiety to an already difficult situation. All universities where lockdowns occur must ensure that students are supporting with deliveries of food and basic amenities and access to mental health services,” Kennedy said.