Studying the Coronavirus Outbreaks at UK Universities

Universities and the Government only have themselves to blame for the predictable outbreaks of Coronavirus on Campuses.

Since Universities reopened in Britain in September there have been predictable and widespread Coronavirus outbreaks on University campuses and halls of residence. At the time of writing there are now 63 UK universities recording coronavirus cases within their populations, a number which will almost certainly rise significantly. The University of Glasgow and Manchester Metropolitan University are among the worst affected with 600 students self isolating in Glasgow after 172 cases where recorded in some halls of residence while 1700 students are self isolating in Manchester after 127 cases in the halls. On Friday, a Northumbria University far surpassed the numbers seen at other Universities with 770 Students testing positive. 

Despite Universities being home to some of the brightest minds in the country they appear to have believed the current outbreaks were avoidable. To use the US as an example, in the two weeks between 26th August and 10th September there were 62,000 positive cases in students. This came before most UK Universities returned. 

Furthermore, there were very few measures put in place to help limit the spread of the virus caused by the University returns. Very few Universities had set up testing regimes of their own to help deal with the inevitable increased demand that would be put on the national system. The benefits of this kind of scheme are now becoming more obviously apparent and some Universities, like Liverpool, East Anglia and Nottingham, have now started to implement one. Moreover, if a mass testing regime could have given all students the possibility to be tested before moving into their new houses and the spread could have been significantly restricted. The benefits of this were highlighted by Middlebury College in Vermont who were able to quickly isolate their only two positive cases before the start of term. Given the clear advantages of a testing system why were they not in place at the beginning of term? 

As expected, the blame and the burden has been thrust upon the students themselves. Students have been forced to self-isolate in a new, foreign environment alongside people they have barely known for a week. Thousands of students across the country are now in this position. The effect that this could have on students’ mental health is huge. The strain on students’ mental wellbeing will not have been helped by the early threats that they may not be able to return home for Christmas. 

Furthermore, the Universities have not adequately helped many of their students, significantly failing in their duty of care. I interviewed a student from The University of Glasgow who described the early situation as chaotic. He said ‘the University was not acknowledging the problem or letting anyone know’ and they ‘ had to find out by word of mouth’ that they should be self-isolating. Everyone in his 12 person flat ended up testing positive for the virus. Other students from the University were confused as to why they had been encouraged to move to the halls given all of their learning was due to be online. 

The negative press received by The University of Glasgow resulted in them making concessions to students. Self isolating students received food vouchers, food parcels and some money off their rent. However, these measures should have been in place from the start of term, not forced upon Universities by negative public opinion. Other students across the country have not been so lucky. The Glasgow student I interviewed said his friends at other universities ‘have been left to fend for themselves’. 

It is increasingly likely that the promise given by Universities of in person teaching will not be fulfilled throughout the semester. Already The University of Manchester has moved all its teaching online shortly after the majority of students arrived in the city. For many first years in Scottish Universities all of their learning is online, yet they were still encouraged to move to University. 

It is difficult to escape the view that students have been used by their institutions and the Government. The student population provides a lot of support to the economies of the communities that they live in. The Government may have seen the return of students to Universities as an opportunity to help maintain failing city centre businesses, struggling without the trade of office workers. Furthermore, the Universities appear unwilling to lose out on the vast amounts of money that students bring to the institution itself through rent in the Halls of residence. Moreover, had students gone a year without any in person teaching and without access to the University facilities, it would be almost impossible to argue that students were getting value for money. This would have seen Universities come under pressure to provide partial refunds for some of the years teaching. Students have been encouraged to put themselves at risk for economic purposes.

The number of cases that have been seen at Universities across Britain was entirely predictable and the sheer number could have been avoided. Students have been severely let down by the Universities and the Government and have been used to aid the failing economy. They should not be held accountable for the mistakes of those in power.