Universities returning likely to have 'biggest impact' on Covid-19 transmission in Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon said the return of students to Scotland was worrying as cases rise.
Universities are likely to have the "biggest impact" on Covid-19 transmission, Nicola Sturgeon has said.Universities are likely to have the "biggest impact" on Covid-19 transmission, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Universities are likely to have the "biggest impact" on Covid-19 transmission, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Nicola Sturgeon has warned that the return of colleges and universities in the coming months could pose the biggest threat of increased Covid-19 transmission in Scotland.

Speaking during her daily coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said that while all aspects of life which could increase transmission worry her, she believes that the return of students to cities and towns will “likely” have the largest impact on new cases of Covid-19 in the coming months.

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Universities across Scotland are expected to welcome thousands of new and returning students to cities such as Edinburgh – which has four universities – and Glasgow – which has three.

The University of Edinburgh is one of four universities in the Capital.The University of Edinburgh is one of four universities in the Capital.
The University of Edinburgh is one of four universities in the Capital.

Academics will be expected to teach using a blended learning approach, not too dissimilar to plans initially proposed for mainstream schools, with some universities employing ‘bubble’ systems where students will be placed within a group to interact with for lectures and practical work.

Students will be expected to wear face coverings in communal areas, including corridors of student accommodation blocks, with student flats and potentially entire floors of catered student accommodation blocks considered one ‘household’ in Covid-19 terms.

This could see households of students rise to as many as 12 – the highest capacity of self-catered flats at Edinburgh University – and potentially higher in areas such as catered halls.

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Ms Sturgeon said: "Just to be blunt about it I am concerned about everything that potentially increases transmission.

"We knew that schools could do that we know that every single restriction we have lifted had the potential to increase transmission and if we look ahead over the next month then the return of universities and colleges is probably the thing that is likely to have the biggest impact on that.

"Yes I am concerned but I also know that we can’t keep life locked down forever because that has consequences too.

"That has consequences on people’s health and well-being, it has consequences for the economy which feeds into health and well-being.”

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The First Minister added that “blunt instruments” could be used to ensure the virus does not spread, potentially leaving open the possibility of local lockdowns in university towns.

She said: “We can’t stay locked down for ever but as we come out of lockdown as all of these things return, the big things like universities and colleges as well as the smaller scale things, it makes it all the more important that we maximise the different ways of controlling transmission.

"That does come back to the basics, it comes back to the hand washing, the face coverings, the staying away from crowds, physical distancing and making sure we are helping Test and Protect do its job.

"The bottom line here is this is not a case of do you keep the virus suppressed or not, it is a case of how do we do that and if we don’t manage to do it through these ways which involve all of us behaving in responsible ways, we will have no option but to go back to blunter instruments again and none of us want to do that.

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