UCL releases exact Covid-19 figures: 190 cases confirmed between UCL students
In a new daily report, UCL has disclosed that there have been a total of 190 confirmed coronavirus cases among its students since the start of term, September 28.
Photography by Tony Slade, UCL Imagestore
As of October 15, 28 cases of Covid-19 have been counted in the last 24 hours out a total of 146 cases reported in the last week. Among staff, there have been a further 13 cases recorded since the start of term.
This data has been made available through a new online report, which shows a breakdown of confirmed cases between both students and staff, and on or off campus. UCL defines a case as ‘on campus’ if a member of UCL has accessed UCL buildings for more than 15 minutes within two days of experiencing symptoms or requesting a coronavirus test. The report is updated every weekday at 9:00 a.m. and as of October 15, there have been a total of 190 coronavirus cases counted among students on campus.
UCL maintains that its approach towards managing the virus on campus has been informed by its “world-leading researchers”. In order to track the number of cases within the university population, UCL has set up the Connect to Protect tool to allow students to report their symptoms online, in addition to the NHS’s Track and Trace scheme, and staff or symptomatic students in UCL halls can request a coronavirus test at UCL’s own testing facility. The university is also offering free food hampers and meal vouchers to those required to self-isolate, as well as necessary medicine and laundry and cleaning supplies free of charge. A virtual community programme called Flourish has been set up for students in UCL accommodation, to ensure students can take part in activities online.
These free provisions for students in isolation have followed complaints from students at other universities who have been forced to pay inflated prices for the food provided by their university during isolation. At the University of York, students have been charged £70 for a sandwich meal deal or £170 for three meals a day during the isolation period, prompting complaints that the university’s offering represented low nutritional value and low value for money.
UCL’s cases are part of a trend in rising cases at universities around the UK, with approximately 2,500 cases being identified at universities in the UK as of last week. Around 770 of these cases represent students at Northumbria University, which faced strikes from teaching staff who had been forced to conduct teaching in-person despite the presence of the virus on campus. The university, alongside the neighbouring University of Newcastle, have now moved teaching online for a minimum of three weeks. The area is also under a local lockdown, in a similar situation to the two universities in Manchester who have seen almost 2,000 students in isolation and subsequently moved teaching entirely online.
In the event that the virus becomes widespread across campus, or if a local lockdown is put in place, UCL’s planned approach states that teaching will be moved entirely online and that access to buildings on campus will be limited to only critical activity. Currently, Camden has one of the lowest weekly incidence rates of any borough, at 54.9 per 100,000, while London’s average rate is currently much higher at 74.7 per 100,000.
However, cases have continued to increase rapidly in London and the government has announced that as of midnight on October 16, the city will be raised to Tier 2 High Alert under the government’s new tiered system. As a result, further restrictions will come into effect, including a ban on different households mixing indoors, including in pubs and restaurants, while the rule of six will still apply in outside spaces. Newcastle and Manchester are both already on ‘High Alert’, and Liverpool is currently the only city on ‘’Very High Alert’. The alarming rates at their respective universities gives cause for concern that cases at UCL and other London universities will follow a similar pattern.
The latest university outbreaks have caused experts to question the decision to allow students to return to campus in the first place. SAGE has stated that although young people are less likely to be severely affected by the virus, cases at universities can “spill over into the community”. While Health Secretary Matt Hancock had previously refused to rule out banning students from returning home at Christmas, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has since outlined new measures that would allow students to return home in time, including requiring students to self-isolate for the last few weeks of term before travelling.