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Students told not to be complacent about covid

Wednesday, 21 October 2020 10:12

By Daniel Clark, local democracy reporter and Radio Exe News

Police fines a "disservice" to Exeter University

Students at the University of Exeter have been warned not to be complacent despite the number of coronavirus cases continuing to fall - and told fines issued to some last weekend does the university a "huge disservice."

Seven students were issued with fixed penalty notices after breaching laws. In recent weeks, the university sent some students home for breaking its own rules put in place during the crisis.

The cluster of cases in the Pennsylvania & University area has fallen to 72 – it was 322 ten days ago – and cases are dropping across the rest of Exeter.

Mike Shore-Nye, registrar and secretary at the university said: “There is good news this week that the number of new positive covid-19 cases is beginning to fall in Exeter and we are beginning to contain the outbreak. Dr Virginia Pearson, Director of Public Health for Devon says that we have seen a “successful reduction in student cases with no sign of significant spread thanks to the swift actions of the University and other partners in working together to contain the situation”.

“But we must not be complacent. The pandemic is not going away and therefore we must adapt and expect to change the way we live, work, study and socialise for the long-term. The last few weeks have shown us that we can prevent the spread of covid-19 by following the advice of public health experts – give people space who are not in your household, wear a mask in crowded spaces and wash your hands regularly and thoroughly. If you have symptoms, get a test and isolate. If you test positive isolate for at least 10 days.

“I know this can be difficult particularly for our younger students away from home for the first time in a difficult and unfamiliar social situation. We are acutely aware of the impact on mental health and wellbeing and the restrictions on social life so integral to university life. The upside though if we stick to the rules is that we can enable more social interaction, support more society activities and offer more teaching on campus.”

He added: “Living in the covid-19 pandemic does not have to define us and there is so much we can do if we follow the guidelines. I know that so many of you are and I hope that you can help us persuade your friends and peers who are not to act for the good of the wider community.

“You may also have seen in the media over the weekend that the police issued fines to several students in our halls for breaking the covid-19 rules and this does a huge disservice to the vast majority of our students who are abiding by the rules. We cannot and will not allow a minority of students to damage your and our standing in the wider community.”

He added that advice from Public Health England was that for students, the best option is to remain at university in order to reduce the risk of transmission locally, nationally and internationally, but if they need to travel home and are not self-isolating or showing symptoms then you can do so if you adhere to current government advice.

University of Exeter students are being asked to not to mix households indoors in a bid to tackle the spread of coronavirus until at least Saturday, with the ban to be reviewed on Friday.

 

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